Enraptured by Darkness
by Baei
Summary: Lucy knew that she could always count on Natsu for help when she needed him... But what happens when he comes a little too late the night she needs him most?
1. Chapter 1

This is my first story, so i would like a little feedback on my writing if you don't mind. Thanks!

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"That kind of looks like the bookstore... but..." Lucy stopped in the midst of her tracks and sighed. Surely someone else from the guild lived even remotely close to her, right? She hated walking alone. She would have asked Natsu to walk home with her, (he would end up there anyway) but she had recently began to feel light headed around him. She knew she had feelings for him, but hoped that they would quickly pass. After all, they were partners, and It would just ruin everything. Either way, tonight was a foggy night, and Lucy had stayed out later then she usually did. Tonight was the guilds birthday party; a celebration for the birth of Fairy Tail. Even Mavis showed up, and she's a ghost! Like all celebrations, it ended with drunk guys laying half conscious on the floor, and unusually paired couples making out in the closets. Lucy shuddered at the thought. That was the reason Lucy had to walk home by herself in the fog.

Fog... Now that she thought about it, fog was unusually common at night; especially this thick.

'Great,' Lucy thought to herself sarcastically, 'I'm lost in an unusually thick fog ... by myself.'

Lucy continued to walk forward in a direction that looked somewhat correct, while echoes of far away noises started to reach her ears. It was difficult for her to ignore them after a while. Honestly, it was really starting to freak her out, and it seemed like they were beginning to get closer...

The sound of a deep voice appeared out of the fog unnaturally close to her ear. It whispered, "Lucy..." And echoes weaved themselves into the remaining quiet space surrounding her.  
Lucy fell backwards into a building wall in surprise. She reached her hand to her hip to grab her keys only, her keys were missing.  
'Oh no... No no no!' Lucy started to have panic filled thoughts. Where had she left them?

In that moment of panic, she remembered where they were... The guild! She wanted to slap herself in the face for forgetting about her only source of protection. She wasn't even drunk, and she had lost her keys? This was was completely alone in this, without anyone to rely on... Or was she?No, she couldn't drag anyone into her own mess.

The deep voice whispered louder this time, "Lucy..." It was giving her a headache.  
She couldn't take anymore noises. "What do you want from me?"  
The voice laughed lowly and dryly, obviously amused its prey could talk back. It beckoned again from the now intensifying fog, "You see, Lucy, that depends on who you know. It's all about who you know."  
Lucy looked around in every possible direction this person could emerge from and sure enough, there he appeared, right in front of her. A hooded man.  
"Who I..." She couldn't get anymore of a sentence out before the figure reached out and stroked her cheek, causing her to tremble.  
"Sweet, innocent Lucy. You're the one I need to get to him. A direct link. So, if you don't mind..." The man grabbed Lucy by the neck and pulled her off of the ground. She gasped for breath, trying to pull his hands lose.

He chuckled darkly. "I'm taking you with me, Celestial Mage." The man slammed Lucy's body back into the wall with such force that it left a slight dent in the bricked pattern. He let her fall onto the concrete floor, allowing her to gasp in a shaky breath.  
This was Lucy's chance. She may not have her keys but she did know a little self defense.  
Lucy Waited a moment to collect her strength and soon rose up to face the man. He was hooded, but she could feel his surprised, angry gaze. He didn't seem to be moving, so Lucy took that chance to launch an attack. She clenched her fist and aimed for his chest, but somehow she missed. She turned around just in time to doge his punch, and try to kick him into the wall. However, he was able to block it by grabbing her leg and flipping her downwards. Lucy pulled her leg free and kicked him backwards, while slamming him in the face with her other leg. Even though she had used up her most powerful defense, the man hadn't phased. He grabbed her arm in the time he had and twisted it backwards, sending a shock of pain up Lucy's arm. When she tried to kick him again, he withstood it and threw her into the ground, looking down angrily at her.

She did all that she could do at this point; she spat in his face.  
The man forcefully wiped off the spit and hissed,  
"Enough games Heartfilia!"  
It wasn't long before he leaned down and held a sharp object to her neck. He spoke with an eeriness and impatience to his voice, "Call him now. Scream out his name, and bring him 're my link, remember?"  
Lucy couldn't convince her voice to do it, so she remained silent. This made him even angrier, resulting in him putting more pressure into the knife.  
"If you won't, i'll make you." He put more force into the knife, causing Lucy gasp uncontrollably.  
The man chuckled once again, "Hey, looks like we're getting somewhere... But it's not enough. LOUDER LUCY!"  
Her threw the knife into his right hand and stabbed her thigh, twisting it and sliding it down her leg until the blood had no choice but to fountain outwards.

Lucy screamed with every muscle in her body. The pain was too much.  
"What's his name princess? I can't hear you..." He taunted her, internally laughing at how well this was going for him. He pulled the knife out and moved it to his left hand, stabbing her hard near the ribs while twisting it once again.  
The same uncontrollable pain took over Lucy's body, causing her to scream again. She had no choice but to scream for him, "NATSU!" If anyone could hear her, it was him.  
This time the man laughed louder. This is exactly what he wanted; a direct link to Natsu Dragneel. He pulled out the knife with one quick, merciless motion, grabbed her by the top of her shirt, and once again pulled her body above the ground.

She was whimpering now, "Natsu... Natsu please..."  
He threw her head back into the wall, staring her dead in the eyes, looking amused. "That's right. Lure him here."  
The knife was thrown onto the ground. It was useless now. He had saved all of his magic power for Natsu... He had to kill him, otherwise it was pointless to continue magic. For one to become powerful, he must defeat the strongest and most willing; at least, that's what his late father used to say. This dragon slayer was the first step to ultimate and unlimited power! He had to become stronger to prove his father wrong.

Almost as if he could hear the mans thoughts, Natsu emerged running from a foggy alleyway looking completely and utterly pissed.  
"LUCY!"  
Lucy forced her eyes open from their barriers and desperately strained to look towards Natsu.  
"Natsu..."  
She almost felt calm knowing he could get her out. she had no doubt he would protect her no matter the cost, but that could also be a bad thing. The intense stare was Broken by the mystery man's swift movement in front of her.  
Natsu glared, instantly catching fire.

The man smirked, ripping his cloak off in a rather cinematic manner. "Natsu the dragon slayer... I knew you would come for such a useless piece to your guild. That's just the kind of person you are."

The Man had rough features. His hair was jet black and spiked, with a small section of white. He had a defined set of muscles and a glove that ran up to the elbow of his right arm. To make him even more fearsome, he was dressed completely in black.

Natsu punched as hard as her could into the concrete floor. "Useless?Lucy is the only thing i need to defeat you... You call that useless?"  
He slowly walked forward,eyes on the ground from the position he was in until he found himself in front of the man. The darkened look on the mans face frightened Lucy, however Natsu didn't even have a change in feelings. Once he had a goal set, he was going to get there.  
"You can pick fights all you want with me, but hurting my family is unforgivable!"  
He launched his burning fist directly at the mans face, but it failed. He found himself face down on the concrete floor no less than 3 seconds later. What had jut happened? He couldn't move...

The man chuckled at Natsu's attempt to grab him while he walked toward Lucy. "You know what I learned Natsu?"  
Natsu responded with a grunt and an attempt to pull himself up, followed by failure. He felt as though he was being taken by a river of quicksand.  
The man pulled Lucy up by the hair, causing her to hiss in pain. "Lucy...!" Natsu forced out the words, falling forward. No way he was being taken out so easily.  
The man spoke the rest of his unfinished sentence, "I learned that the only was to get to someone's weak spot... is through torture..."  
In that moment Lucy found herself being thrown toward the ground. He shoved his hand roughly to grab onto the top of Lucy's head, to which Lucy responded pulled back on his arm. Pointless.

"Torture... Infinite evil voices..."  
With those words everything seemed to happen so quickly... His hand produced an energy similar to lightning; it had a red tint that was almost blinding to look at.  
For that long moment, Natsu couldn't hear anything but Lucy's desperate screams of pain... and for the first time in a long time, he was terrified.

"STOP HURTING HER!"

He couldn't let a member of his guild, his partner, die. He had to get up and fight! Why couldn't he move?  
Her voice seemed to be completely broken around her third scream and Natsu could finally stand up. Once he did, the lightning ceased to continue, causing a weak Lucy to hit the ground hard, gasping in a breath of air, and coughing it back out.  
Natsu's eyes met hers quickly to re-assure that he would get her out, but Lucy couldn't seem to see past the ground in front of her.  
"Ready to fight me again, Dragneel?" the man yelled in a harsh tone.  
Natsu looked down at the ground with a deep sense of hatred. This man tried to Kill Lucy; his partner, his best friend. To make matters worse, he loved her.  
He couldn't let this merciless man kill the one he loved.

Natsu's body ignited in flames that were brighter than ever before, and the man's body was surrounded by bright white lightning. Both charged, slamming into one another. When Natsu threw a punch, the man blocked it away; when the man launched a kick, Natsu jumped to dodge. They were almost equally matched. Of course, the man saw this as a good thing, but Natsu wanted Lucy safe as soon as possible. She was the only thing on his mind every time he would hit the floor.  
After falling backwards once again, Natsu decided it was the lat time.  
"Lightning flame dragon mode!"  
Using up what he had left, Natsu screamed his last attack, "Fire Dragon; LIGHTNING FLAME ROAR!"  
The man, now drained of his attacks, flew backwards directly into the brick wall from the force of the fiery vortex produced. The force of Natsu's attack left the man passed out on the concrete with a heavily encrusted dent in the brick behind him.

Natsu gathered the strength he had left and approached the man slowly.  
"Don't mess with Fairy Tail," Natsu spat through his teeth, kicking him for good measure.  
He turned to find Lucy huddled in a ball near the corner. Blood was pouring from two gash wounds on her body, and she looked nearly unconscious from the lightning she had endured earlier.  
Lucy strained to open her eyes to look at Natsu. He didn't look so good either. The fire in his eyes seemed to be dim, he was covered in highly visible scaled skin, and his clothes were ripped up. On his way over to her, he even tripped over his own feet. Lucy felt horrible about having to bring him here.  
But, she definitely couldn't walk on her own, and it was almost impossible for her to breathe due to being stabbed in the ribs.  
She whimpered out as he did, and he could barley keep his face calm.

"Lucy, it's going to be okay."  
"What... happened? Where did.."  
"It's alright. He's gone now Luce.. He's not going to hurt you anymore. I won't let him." He spoke his last sentence with an edginess to his voice that Lucy didn't like. He sounded too serious, and Natsu was never too serious.  
She tried to think of a way to make him smile but it was as if something was clouding her thoughts... Now that she thought about it, it was like someone was speaking to her, or rather, many people speaking at once. They were ordering her to...kill?

She looked up at Natsu, and a sudden vision of his death appeared. It was Lucy, stabbing him in the chest multiple times. She automatically shifted back into reality. Was she insane? Why wouldn't they go away?  
"No... Go away..." Lucy's shaky voice tried to scream out, hoping to keep the voices out.  
It definitely caught Natsu's attention. "Hey, Lucy... Are you okay?"  
She was shaking in fear now that she would end up following the voices orders. "No! They won't leave me alone," She gasped in a few breaths, before saying,  
"Natsu, you have to leave me here! T-they'll make me kill you...!"  
"Luce, calm down. No ones going to hurt you or me, okay?" He pulled her head in closer to his chest. "I have to trust me..."  
She felt a little calmer now, but mostly because of Natsu's scent. For some reason, he always calmed her down with his scent. The voices were starting to fade away, and Lucy was starting to loose consciousness as Natsu stood up and carried her to the guild. The last thing Natsu thought before entering the guild was of how different Lucy's scent was.


	2. Chapter 2

Happy New Year! I made this chapter as quickly as I could. Two reviews doesn't seem like a lot, but it means so much to me! So thank you **Guest** and **darknessenvelopesme **for the reviews!

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Porlyusica emerged from the guilds hospital room with the same look of annoyance on her face she always had. She had come to take a look at Lucy after Wendy had done her best to seal up her wounds. Everyone who was normally at the guild was there, impatiently awaiting the news. All they knew was that a worried, and angry looking Natsu had brought an almost dead looking Lucy to the guild at nearly 4 in the morning. Bracing himself for the worst news possible, Natsu was pacing and had been for a while. Wendy was nearly asleep on the bench for having used so much of her magic power before.  
"Well, the good news..." Porlyusica spoke out calmly, " is that Lucy's wounds are almost completely healed thanks to Wendy. However, something is bothering me."  
The gathered members of the guild looked impatiently to the old woman's face.  
"The magic power I'm sensing from her seems...disturbed; almost like someone or something is interfering with it. I can't seem to figure out what it is, so that's your job."  
Porlyusica started walking slowly out the front doors of the guild hall, while quickly adding, "If you do figure out what it is, you may come back to me for help." The doors quietly closed shut, taking her voice with it.

"How unusual for her to allow us to." Master Macarov commented quietly to himself. The guild members all exchanged looks toward each other, wondering what they should do now.  
Levy was the first to speak, "I can't wait any longer. I have to see if she's alright." With that, she ran past the group of people surrounding the entrance to the infirmary.  
"I suppose I should go with her," Mira stood up to follow levy, with Lisanna following behind as a dog would his master.

Once Inside the infirmary, the three girls stood in shock about what they had walked in on. There in front of them, was Lucy siting up against the Bed frame, silently rocking herself back and forth. She was whispering in panic amongst herself.  
"Lucy..." Levy whispered in terror, covering her mouth with both of her hands.  
Lisanna's first thought was to bring Porlyusica back. "What's wrong with her...Mira? Should I get someone?"  
However, Mira's first thought was to calm her down. "Lucy... It's alright," she slowly started walking towards Lucy. "All your friends are waiting for you; worried about you. You have to stay strong for them."  
Inside Lucy's mind, the voices from the night before we're back to torment her. Thy wouldn't seem to leave her alone! She has almost given in to their prompting of murder before, and she was too terrified that she would end up killing one of her closest friends. The voices became louder as Mirajane walked toward her.

Suddenly, her mind traveled to the death of Mira. It was Lucy, grabbing a hold of her neck just as she came close to embrace her, and chocking her to her agonizing death. Then, her mind flashed back to reality, causing her to scream out with all of her strength, "NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"  
Mira staggered back, and at the moment of her scream, Natsu ran in along with happy. "Lucy! What's wrong with her?" When no one answered, Natsu sprinted to the side of her bed and grabbed a hold of her shoulders. "Lucy, it's me Natsu."  
She struggled out of his grip, got out of bed and backed into the corner where two walls met. "You have to stay away... I... They're telling me to...Kill..." She sank down to the floor sobbing into her hands.  
"The voices... won't leave me alone! I almost listened to them. I'm...Dangerous!"  
After a long moment of nothing but the sound of despair, Mira spoke quietly, "I'll leave You guys alone. I don't think having 5 people in the room is doing any good for her." She walked through the entrance with Lisanna trailing closely behind. Levy took a moment to look at Natsu before speaking to him.

"Natsu, you better take care of Lu-chan," she took in a shaky breath. Next, she looked at Lucy.

"Lucy, don't make me write a book about you... Y-you'd better do that yourself!" (Meaning: Don't die like this on me.) After she angrily yelled those words, she ran out of the room with the door silently closing behind her.

"Natsu..." Happy hovered close behind him with tears flowing down his cheeks, "What's wrong with Lucy?"

Natsu looked up at Happy, then back to Lucy. "That guy really fucked her up," His eyes trailed down to the ground shadowing over and his voice full of hate. "But we're gonna fix it."

He slowly walked over to Lucy, who was slightly calmer than before, but still hiding away sobbing. He pulled her to his chest and she didn't seem to resist. "You hear that, Lucy?" he spoke softly, "We're gonna get rid of those voices in your head; The whole guild will help." He picked her up with great care, and set her back down on the infirmary bed.  
"We are your family, and families take care of each other," Natsu continued to speak quietly. Lucy opened her eyes to find a sad Happy, and a worried Natsu; two emotions that looked strangely odd on their faces. They weren't suppose to be worried. It wasn't like them. Natsu threw the sheets back on her and whispered to himself, " I swear I'll get rid of them." As he started to walk away, Lucy grabbed hold of his jacket and panicly said, "Wait..."  
He turned around in surprise. "...What is it, Lucy?"  
"Could you..." She whispered out, slightly embarrassed now, "hold me?"  
He looked back at her, puzzled. "Hold you?"  
"Y-You don't have to if you don't want to, it's just that... Your smell..." Now she felt as if she was making a complete fool out of herself. Why had she said that? It sounded ridiculous. However, Natsu turned around, sat on the bed and pulled her back into him.  
After a long moment, he spoke, "What about my smell? Should I be offended?"  
Despite her terror, she laughed, "No, It's Relaxing... That's a good thing."

"I never thought of my smell to be relaxing." He took a moment to laugh at himself. "You're weird Lucy."

They sat there together for a while; never moving and only whispering to each other when speaking, until finally Lucy was asleep. He set her down carefully and covered her lifeless body with the bed sheets. On his way out, he removed his jacket placing it next to her head, and scooped up a now sleeping Happy. Well, she did say his smell relaxed her.

Most of the guild was still there; Just spread out. When they saw a shirtless Natsu leaving the guild, no one was particularly surprised.  
Cana turned away from her barrel to beer to Gray and said, "Hey Gray, is your stripping fetish contagious? Looks like Natsu caught it."  
Gray turned to her with anger written on his face. "What are you talking about? I don't have a stripping fetish!"  
Juvia's mind fell into an immediate trance. "Two Gray-sama's!"

Now outside the guild, Natsu was already all the way by Lucy's house. He sat down by the river near her house with Happy quietly sleeping in his arms. He looked out into the sky and saw that it was already sunset.

"Hey,Where's Lucy? Isn't she usually walking here around this time?" Two men on a passing boat starting talking amongst themselves about the missing Lucy. Natsu wanted to answer them but decided it was a little strange to. Lucy sure knew a lot of people; He had never even seen those guys before.  
After a while it was finally dark, and he decided to start heading home. Along with Happy, he slowly wondered back to his house out where no one else ever was. He really hoped that the guild would figure out a way to help her.

Back at the guild, more people were going home as well. The only people that stayed were The few that never seemed to leave. Most of them were nearly asleep, but Mira and Macarov were speaking with one another about their guild member.

Mira was the one who started The conversation, "She looked so... terrified. I didn't know what I had done, but I didn't want to do it again."  
Macarov grunted, "It's not you. It's whatever's in her head. Natsu told me that he took down a guy using Lucy to get to him. Said something about 'infinite voices,' and I'm guessing that's what this is."  
Mira thought for that moment while he was speaking before saying, "You don't think... That he's the only one who can remove them do you? The man who gave it to her I mean."  
"Possibly. He is still alive for whatever reason was going through Natsu's head, so if we could get him to undo it..."

"Why would he do that? He cast it in the first place."

Macarov took a moment to think it over. "You may be right. We might just have to find someone with the same power. Although, it isn't certain that they would be able to undo a curse they didn't cast." Mira stood up to go cover Lisanna and Elfman, who had fallen asleep right next to each other.

Macarov looked around at his guild members. Family. He wouldn't give it up for all the magical power in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so happy because of you guys. The reviews are so nice! (Thanks to** lovergirl8602** and yet two more** Guests** again! ^_^ Although, I wish I could thank the Guests by name.) On a sadder note, I might not update as frequently because the break is over. Yes that's right, school is starting back up again. However, I will update as much as I can because I love writing! I know i'm not the best but it's a good way to start, right? It took me all day to write this one because I had a terrible case of a little something called writers block. (-_-;) Anyway, hopefully you like it and see you next update!

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Lucy sighed louder than she needed to. "You guys are ALWAYS Hungry."  
Natsu looked at her, mouth wide open, and said, "Don't tell me that your not. It's been like..." He started counting on his fingers, "three whole hours since we last ate."  
"Yeah! Think of the fish!" Happy added on.  
Lucy sighed once again. She knew they would do this because they always did wherever they went. She eventually gave into their complaints.  
"Okay, fine. Go find something to eat and I'll wait for you right here," she folded her arms and dramatically sat down on the bench she had stopped in front of. Natsu and Happy smiled brightly at her. "Thanks Lucy!" They yelled back in unison as they ran in the opposite direction. He couldn't help but laugh to herself as they ran. Just a few days ago, she couldn't even smile because of that damned spell. Constantly having the thought of murder on her mind was terrifying, but having Natsu around put her at ease. She still couldn't figure out the reason behind it, and they still couldn't find anyone to undo the spell. It was driving her insane! To make matters worse, she couldn't stop thinking about Natsu. She had promised herself that she wouldn't fall in love with him, but spending so much time around him was making it impossible.  
Every time he held her, she just felt safe. The voices would try to talk her into killing him right there, but she just couldn't. The voices and visions were getting stronger each day. They were their strongest specifically at night, which was the one time Lucy couldn't go to anyone for help. But she knew that as Long as he kept her sanity, the urges wouldn't take over. She just had to stay sane.  
Lucy groaned at the intense heat beating down on her. She would really rather be at home. The whole reason they were on this job was because of her stupid landlady, who couldn't wait for the rent money. This was all her fault. Lucy groaned again even louder, moving positions. Not only was it hot, but there was no possible way to get comfortable on a bench.

Since Natsu and Happy would probably take long to eat, she decided to take advantage of the peaceful moment to read the newest addition to Sorcerers Weekly. She couldn't help but laugh every time she read it because there was always a story featuring Fairy Tail. She couldn't believe how obsessed she was with it only a little while ago.  
In the midst of her thoughts, a woman trying to calm a crying baby came to sit next to her. She seemed to be lost in her focus until she caught glimpse of Lucy.  
The woman's eyes widened and she quickly stuttered out, "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm probably bothering you..."  
Lucy raised her hands up as if to erase the woman's worries. "No, it's fine. Really, I've..."

Somewhere, out of the darkness inside of her, Lucy felt the Voices and visions begin to awaken from their chambers. They were back to torment her, only... It felt much stronger this time.  
'No... Stay away. You have to stay away...' Lucy thought to herself in sudden panic. Now was the worst possible time with this many people around. Not to mention that there was a woman and child next to her.  
She winced and grabbed the sides of her head with both of her hands,trying to push them back. 'Get...OUT!' Lucy mentally yelled at herself.  
"Aww, but we just want to have some fun, Lucy," the multiple voices whispered back at her.  
'NO! Not now...' She was so close to screaming out loud.  
"Hmm..." They taunted in unison, "Who shall be our victim... Ah! What about that baby and her mother? After all they are so close..."  
"NO! STOP!" Lucy was trying so hard to fight them off that she forgot the keep her voice inside of her head. Now multiple people were looking her way.  
"Want to see their death, Lucy? Think of how much better you will feel once you have their blood on your hands. Don't fight it." Before she could answer, Lucy was suddenly thrown into an alternate reality of the woman and her baby's death. She grabbed the whip hanging from her hip and stretched it out until it cracked almost evilly. The woman was first to die, dropping the child and silently screaming as she was chocked to death. The baby was left on the ground to suffer a long, painful death as Lucy shoved one of the celestial spirit keys into it's chest. When Lucy was finished taking both of their lives, she looked down at her hands covered in blood and screamed at the terrifying things she had done without even hesitating.

Her mind flashed back into reality. To her horror, She found herself holding her whip out as she had when her vision began. She quickly dropped it to the ground, hands shaking and heart beating loudly. She staggered backwards. Had they gotten strong enough to push her this far? They'd never been able to control her like that before.  
She looked at the woman, who was slightly confused at the fact that Lucy had pulled out a whip, but not terrified at all. Didn't she realize?  
"Are... you alright miss?" The woman looked worried.  
Lucy couldn't answer. This woman didn't had no idea what she was about to do to her and her child! No one had any was of knowing when Lucy would attack... Not even Lucy herself.  
As soon as she had control of her legs, she ran through the multitude of people toward the least populated area she could find as fast as she could. Behind her, the woman called out, "Wait!" but Lucy wasn't turning back.

Meanwhile, Natsu and Happy had just emerged from the restaurant they pretty much cleaned out. Patting his Stomach in satisfaction Natsu spoke to Happy. "You know, this may be the fish talking, but I think that was the best meal I've ever had."  
"Aye," Happy replied happily.  
They both stopped in their tracks as a familiar panicked blonde pushed past them without a second glance. It was Lucy, on the verge of tears, running past everyone to get to the most abandoned part of town. One man dropped his bag as she ran into him and yelled, "Hey, watch it kid!"  
"...Was that..." Happy whispered, looking in the direction she ran.  
"Yeah, it's Lucy. Let's go Happy." Natsu didn't hesitate to push past everyone after his Comrade.  
Happy flew past everyone, as well, to keep up with Natsu. "Aye!"

Once Lucy came to a dark secluded alleyway, she stopped to catch her breath. However, she couldn't hold back her emotions anymore. Clinging to the wall, she slid down until she collapsed onto her knees. She clenched her hands into fists and and let the tears fall. Lucy used to think that she was strong, but this moment just proved how weak she really was. Crying to herself in solitude about how she couldn't control herself? That was the very definition of weak. Changing positions, she hugged her knees close to her chest as if to protect herself and hid her face in her arms. Maybe it would be better if she killed herself. If she ceased to exist, no one would be in danger of dying a demented and tragic death by her own hands.

"Yes, good idea Lucy," the voices beckoned from their chamber again. For once, she didn't disagree.

"What is the point of wanting to murder?" Lucy questioned them outside of her thoughts.

They all answered as one. "That is our masters magic. He drives people insane to the point of getting what he wants."

"But I don't know what he wants! What could this man possibly want from me?! I've never seen him before in my life!" She took in a shaky breath to calm herself when they didn't answer. Cowards. They were all cowards.

Out of her own darkness, she heard her name being yelled out in the distance. It wasn't the voices inside of her, though. To her surprise, two familiar silhouettes appeared at the end of the alleyway. "Lucy!" It was Natsu and Happy. They had followed her here?

"What are you doing all the way over here? We were worried sick you know! What if something worse had happened? Tell me what you would have done..." Natsu's voice got angrier and angrier as he rambled on; he lectured almost like a parent would. Listening to him caused the tears begin to fall faster and more frequently than they had before. How could someone worry so much about a murderer?  
Happy elbowed him, trying to get him to shut up. Natsu stopped speaking only to stare at her in surprise. After a moment he walked towards her, stopped and got on his knees to embrace Lucy's face with his hands.  
His facial expressions changed from angry to almost guilty. "Luce... Don't cry. I don't like it when you're sad. You're not suppose to be sad..." He stopped speaking and reached out to cradle her head to his chest. He was too scared to ask about what happened. If he asked, he felt as if he might break her. Lucy weaved out of her ball of solitude and fell into Natsu's arms, clinging to his shirt. The tears would not stop coming. The more the time passed, the more she would sob; It was getting to be too much for Natsu. He embraced her tighter and before he knew it, he was crying as well.

"W-why are y-you crying?" Lucy was able to force out the words despite her condition.

Natsu hid his face in her hair and whispered, "Because you are."

"Stop it! Both of you!" Happy's voice was heard to the side of them. They both looked up in surprise. "If you don't... I'll... I'LL START CRYING TOO!" He spoke as if it was a warning, but he was already crying. Natsu smiled gently at the blue exceed and pulled him into their warm embrace. Lucy laughed lightheartedly at the sudden change in mood. If anyone could stop the sadness, it was them.

"Come on. We have a job to do," Natsu got up, pulling Lucy with him. She wiped away her tears on the back of her hand. He looked to Happy and added, "Besides, we don't want Lucy being kicked out; Then she would have to live with us." Lucy's cheeks reddened at the thought.

"Aye! Can you imagine being yelled at all the time?" Happy agreed.

She reached out to grab him, and angrily spat through her teeth, "Listen, cat..!"

"HELP! LUCY'S TRYING TO TURN ME INTO TUNA!" He screamed, flying away.

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN A FISH! HOW WOULD I DO THAT?!" She screamed back, running after him.

Natsu smiled widely to himself, laughing as he ran after both of them. The pain was gone ...for now.

Once outside of the alleyway, Lucy was able to grab Happy. "Got you! Now take back what you said," she said triumphantly. However, the moment didn't last long. At the sight of who was running after her, she instantly let go of Happy and took one step back.

"Miss! Please wait...You... forgot something..." The woman from before stopped in front of Lucy, baby on her back, trying to catch her breath. At that moment, Natsu appeared next to Lucy with a look of confusion on his face. "Who's that?" he asked innocently. When no one answered, he looked over to Lucy to find that her face was shadowed over and she was shaking violently. Maybe this woman had to do with what happened before.

"Lucy... you're shaking..." Natsu whispered loud enough for all 4 of them to hear.

"I just..." The woman reached into her bag and pulled out two familiar objects. "I wanted to give these back to you. You dropped them while we were talking before. I know how rare they are and I didn't want to just leave them there." What she held out was Lucy's whip and celestial keys.

It took Lucy a moment to calm herself before she could answer, "Thank you," She reached out carefully to take them, "But... if you knew how rare they are, why didn't you just take them?"

A heartfelt laugh was heard from the woman. "What would I do with Celestial keys? It's not like I'm a wizard. Even if I was, I just don't think taking other people's things is really a good idea." She looked to her back to see if her child was still okay and smiled to herself. "Well, anyway... I'd better be going or I'm going to miss my train. It was nice to meet you!"

As she ran away, the voices in the back of Lucy's mind tried to overtake her being. The vision from before returned, causing her to grab the sides of her head and cry out in pain as she had before.

"Come on," They said dementedly, "This may be your last chance..."

"NO! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY NO!" She screamed out loud at them.

"LUCY!" A voice pulled her from the battle inside of her head. Natsu was shaking her furiously.

She looked up at him, terrified. How long had be been shaking her? Where they taking over her physical state as well? He and Happy certainly looked scared.

"Natsu... how long was I..." She spoke slowly.

He looked at her dead in the eyes and said,in realization, "So that's it. They're back... It was that woman and her baby, huh? They told you to kill them."

Lucy's bottom lip quivered. "They're getting stronger. I can't... I don't even know how to escape them when they're speaking to me. I...I'm..."

He stopped her before she could cry. "Shh. It's okay...okay? I've already told you that I won't let them hurt you didn't I?"

"Yes, but..." She hesitated, "what if they try to hurt you or Happy? I can't control myself anymore! They're taking over."

Natsu smiled. "Come on. Do you really think that I'd let them get to me?"

"Aye! And I can fly away from anything!"

All Lucy could do was nod. She knew that they were both strong, but if they really did get to them she would never forgive herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Here it is! This one was a little rushed...Good news is, I tried to make a schedule with myself. I will be _trying_ to post every weekend, so you can expect to see a new chapter every week. Ready for the bad news? It's finals week. This means that I have to study hard to get the best grades possible on these, so you may have to wait an extra week for chapter 5._ I promise I will make it amazing (*_*)_. Oh, one more bit of bad news... (;_;) I'm loosing my internet tomorrow, which is why I rushed. Due to that, here's a little more to expect- My chapters may not be thoroughly edited. It's extremely hard to edit on my phone and I can't figure out how to transfer my files onto it.(If anyone has a writing app that works well, maybe you could tell me the name of it? It would REALLY help.)

Enjoy! But, **WARNING**- It's not bad (yet) but this is one of THOSE chapters. Remember, It's rated M.

* * *

"I... I've been... WHAT?!" Lucy screamed in shock.  
The landlady stared up at Lucy with evil eyes. "Yep. I told you to pay rent three months ago, and I can't wait any longer. So, GET OUT!"  
Before she knew it, Lucy's things were being thrown at her. The door slammed shut behind the landlady and that was it. Jeez, She could wait seven years for rent but she couldn't wait three weeks? She'd been such an idiot to think landlady would let that slide. After all her logic is terribly flawed, and the circumstances were slightly different back then. Either way, her problem was the same; where would she live now?

(Flash forward to the guildhall) "You can live with us!" Happy flew in circles around her head, but she just ignored him.  
"Isn't there any room in the girls dorm?" Lucy asked hopefully.  
"Yes but...not if you can't even afford a 70,000 jewel rent. It's 100,000 jewel rent to live there." Erza answered honestly.  
A guy she'd never even met jumped into the conversation. "Lucy! You can live with me..."  
"NO WAY PERVERT!"  
"You know what? Never mind. I would let you over to my place but I'd rather not have ANNOYING BITCHES IN MY HOUSE!"  
"TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Yeah guy, take it back! Lucy isn't a bitch!"

"So you're implying that I'm annoying?"

"GRAY, NO ONE IS TALKING TO YOU! PUT YOU'RE CLOTHES ON!"

"Don't talk to Gray-sama that way..!"  
Out of every corner of the guildhall, everyone started to fight over something out of context. What had she started? She should have paid attention. As being part of a guild that liked to fight, this was normal. Lucy escaped out the main doors as fast as she could. Once outside, she sat on the concrete steps, pushed against the sides if her head now bearing an intense headache, and sighed heavily. Maybe she should go live with Happy and Natsu. As much as it was a terrible idea, there was no where else to go.  
As if he heard her thoughts, Happy emerged from the guild, falling to the ground in defeat. When he noticed Lucy he said, "What did you do? I almost got killed!"  
"It's not MY fault. This guild just has some serious issues," She stopped herself and looked out into Magnolia. Sunrise always made the town look prettier than it normally was, and Fairy Tail had the perfect view of it from here. A gust of wind traveled through the air and blew past them peacefully, almost like a dream. Emerging from her thoughts, she smiled to herself, and quietly said, " Besides, It'd be weird if they weren't arguing all the time, you know?" She ended the sentence closing her eyes in bliss.  
"Aye." Happy quietly said back. After a moment, his face turned from peaceful to serious, and he looked down from the sun rising from behind the hills.  
"Lucy..?"  
"Yeah, Happy?"  
"Me and Natsu... we weren't kidding," he fidgeted his tail and said a little quieter, "We really want you to come live with us."  
Her eyes flew open as she gasped softly and turned her head quickly to have her eyes meet Happy's. He really wasn't kidding. In fact she'd never seen him look so serious about something not involving fish. It was almost creepy.  
She was the first to speak amidst the silence as she looked away."It wouldn't be so bad..." she started to whisper, Happy's eyes becoming larger in hope. "I mean- you guys are my partners. We technically spend every moment together already-"

Happy jumped to his feet in excitement and enthusiastically said,"So you mean...?!"

"I still have to think about it, but, I really do have no where else to go anyway," Lucy said, smiling. She then became instantly serious. "Can I... Ask you something about Natsu?"  
Happy became just as serious at the site of her face."What's the question?"  
"Is he..." The guild doors opened suddenly.  
"Hey guys! Why are you outside the guild? People are starting to wonder where you went." She was interrupted mid-sentence by a comfortingly familiar voice. Natsu.  
"Well, speak of the fire Mage. Here is is himself!" Happy yelled out, crossing his arms and looking away in annoyance.  
Natsu stared down at him, and said with a carefulness to his voice, "Did I do something wrong?"  
"Oh no, nothing," He said back angrily, "Just that me and Lucy were finally having a touching moment and you came in to ruin it!" Lucy's cheeks reddened at the thought.  
"What? You and Lucy? A touching moment? Oh please, you can't even hold down a real conversation!"  
"You know what Natsu!? You're... You're just..." He looked as if he were about to cry.  
"See? You can't even finish your sentence," Natsu replied aimlessly.  
"YOU'RE SO MEAN!"Happy screamed out as loud as he could, flying away towards the town.  
"Wait, Happy!" Natsu yelled, hand raised toward the exceed, but he had already disappeared.  
He growled in annoyance and kicked the concrete staircase. "DAMN IT! Every time... Why does he do that?!"

He started running down the hill to get to Happy, and Lucy quickly followed after him. Sometimes they could be so childish that she would forget they weren't kids. Happy usually overreacted to things, but Natsu was really being a jerk to him this time, weather he knew it or not.

Natsu ran in a constant direction to get to the one place Happy normally was. He was completely aware that Lucy was following behind him, which seemed to make him angrier. Why didn't she just worry about her own problems? Did she really have to meddle in their lives all the time?

As they ran, she passed what seemed like every building in site. Where the hell were they going? They ran non-stop for a while until Natsu was finally out if breath. He stopped to rest against the building wall of a familiar house, muttering angry things to himself as entered the home. As soon as Lucy caught up to him, he slammed the door angrily. She fell to her knees in exhaustion. As she gasped for oxygen she noticed why the path had been so familiar; this was Natsu and Happy's house. It was so secluded that she was beginning to think they were going nowhere. Natsu ran around the house frantically. He threw things and slammed doors, but Happy didn't seem to be here.

In that moment, he was on fire and Lucy moved back to ensure that she wouldn't get burned. Did this normally happen when they got into fights? After all, she didn't normally get involved.  
He was clenching his fists so tightly that Lucy was afraid. She slowly stood up and tried to reach her hand out as if to stop his flames. As she did, she whispered, "Natsu... Calm do-"  
"No! You don't get it!" He grabbed her by the arms and threw her to the wall, still grasping tightly to her as she hit. Once her back made contact with the wall she winced in pain. Had he ever gotten so angry over a mere fight like this before? She supposed that he loved to fight but this wasn't happiness... It was almost as if he was fighting something worse. He stood still,letting the flames burn until Lucy could soon feel the burning sensation. Her eyes widened in surprise. He didn't know what he was doing; She had to snap him out of it before something happened.  
"Natsu..." She whispered out the words nervously, as she didn't want to make things worse. " Are you okay?...What don't I get?"  
His fists tightened before he looked up into her eyes.  
"Does it have to do with Happy?"  
His flames suddenly stopped as if they had never been ignited.  
"No."  
"Then what is it? It's obviously bothering you to the extent of scaring the crap out of me! I don't understand why a stupid fight started this, and I thought you guys were a lot stronger than a few dumb words!" All he did was look back into her eyes with an intensity so insanely deep that she thought she might loose herself in it.  
When he didn't say anything, she continued. "He overreacts to every thing but you've never gotten so upset over it... I just can't imagine you guys not together. It's like... Food without flavor." She cringed at her own words. Wow, that was the worst metaphor she'd ever used.  
What happened next was unexpected; Natsu started laughing. Laughing uncontrollably. Lucy didn't know if he was insane or if he was just laughing at her terrible metaphor; so she glared at him, prepared for either reason. When his laughter died down he let go of Lucy's burnt arms and hugged her.  
"You're so weird, Luce."  
Her glare disappeared and she weakly hugged him back. In that instant he looked down to her arms and gasped to himself. She could feel his muscles begin to tighten once again.  
"Was that...me?" He barley whispered in horror, letting go and pushing away from her immediately. When he just couldn't stare anymore, he grabbed one of her arms gently and just looked. "I don't even remember...why didn't you stop me?"  
Lucy hesitated with her answer. "I didn't need to. You did nothing that-"  
"You call this nothing? Doesn't it hurt?! I hurt Happy and now I've hurt you!" he said, staring at his clenched hands and becoming angrier every word he said. Finally he whispered, "What kind of monster... does that..?"

That crossed a line. Natsu couldn't feel bad about himself if she wasn't even hurt, and he defiantly couldn't call himself a monster. She trembled with anger and disbelief as she quickly ran to Natsu, pushing him forcefully into the opposite wall from her. He was caught off guard and fell into it- hard. He stared at her in surprise. She held him there, face shadowed over and hands shaking. When she didn't say anything, Natsu became worried.

"Lucy..." he said, voice quivering as her hands did.

"No!" she yelled angrily, "You can't do that! You can't call yourself a monster!" She raised her head up and looked deep into his wide eyes, her expression fierce. "The Natsu I know doesn't do that... h'es always positive, and... and... YOU JUST CAN'T DO THAT!" She stopped, and looked down again, breathing hard. She could already feel the tears slowly pour out, one drop at a time. Natsu let her hold him there for a moment. Had he made her cry? It wasn't even for the right reasons. Why should she care what he called himself?

In that instant, it hit him. Of course, it explained everything- why she followed him on jobs, why she gave in to every request he and Happy made, why she cried for him... Everything connected. This was it. He had to show her now, or he may never be able to show her again.

When she looked into his eyes once again, his expression was intense, almost threatening. He instantly turned her around so that she was in his previous place and enclosed the space between them. Her back hit the wall in surprise and he neared, eyes narrowed and face intense. Once he was as close as she thought he could get, he embraced her head and started to pull himself even closer, breathing heavier with each inch. The moment his lips touched hers, time stood completely still. Was he insane? It felt strangely... good. The sensation traveled through her blood to every part of her body. Lucy accepted the non-verbal invitation without even thinking, causing Natsu to smirk against her own lips. She didn't want to move from where she was. It was as if all of the fire in his being was burning with hers; like she was getting weaker with every movement he made, and she didn't want it to stop.

Natsu felt as though he was becoming more of an animal with every second they were connected. His self control was chipping away slowly, as it had earlier. He'd been waiting for this moment for a long time; the moment that he could finally show Lucy how much he needed her. As he drained the sanity out of her with each movement, she slowly began to understand everything. It explained every little thing- feeling her pain when she was at her worst, protecting her from the evil outside as well as within her, and why he had been so upset- it all came together.  
An almost fearful whimper was heard from the celestial mage, that drove Natsu insane. In response, he moaned loudly and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He slammed his hand on the wall to keep his balance. The air in the room was becoming thinner and thinner as his hand began to travel around to the front of her. It made it's way up to her collarbone and back around to her neck, causing her to shiver. Lucy's hands shifted from their defenseless position to travel up his chest and to his head, pulling him nearer. They bumped into something that quietly hit the floor as he pulled her farther through the hall. His hands continued to graze her body and she couldn't stay silent anymore. "N-natsu," she gasped out. The words made him growl in an animal like way. He needed her now. She was pushed around to a different spot of the house. Lucy fell backwards and her back soon hit something soft. A bed? It was then that she realized she had to stop; She didn't want to do anything they would regret... but... she just couldn't pull away. He straddled her roughly, keeping her arms held down the whole time.

He pulled away to breath. As they separated Lucy gained self control. "...w-we have t-to stop..." she panted, as he came down for another kiss. She pulled her arms loose and gently started pushing him away, but he wouldn't give in. He growled lowly and pulled her closer into his lips. Since she had no chance of winning him over physically, the only thing she had left to do was to talk sense into him.

She broke the kiss to speak, "Natsu-" but without lips to kiss, Natsu decided to trail his kisses down her neck. She shivered violently, causing her to moan loudly. The sound pleased him, making him do it over again, this time licking his way back up to her ear. Her earlobe was soon trapped inside of his mouth, and he started to graze it lightly, making her lightly scream in surprise.

"Natsu," she tried again, breathlessly, "S-stop..."

Finally letting his senses catch up to him, Natsu moaned in annoyance and rested his forehead on hers. The only thing heard for a long moment was each others breathing. "Sorry- I just..." he finally whispered, "I had to show you."

She could feel his aggravated breath on her neck and she looked up to his face. He turned his head to look into her eyes, intensity burning a hole into her memory.

"Lucy, I..." He couldn't seem to finish the sentence, but Lucy knew what he was going to say. She saw it- just now as he was kissing her. He loved her.

"Natsu. I know." She said simply, but it wasn't enough. He pulled back slightly as if to examine her whole face questionably. Looks like she would be the first to say it.

"I love you too, Natsu."

For a moment, he didn't react. However, once it reached his ears, he grinned and pulled her up with him into a tight hug. He inhaled her sweet smell as usual, only... There was a hint of fire in it that pleased him.

"I knew it."

* * *

Here's a bit of fan art someone inboxed me art/LUCYXNATSU-424701487

Also, THE REVIEWS! (*_*) Thanks to G**uest**- You are always welcomed into my review section.

**Celtikia82**- I absolutely LOVED your idea... mind if I used it?

And** Lovergirl8602**- Two comments makes you amazingly cool to me! Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

Guess who wrote a chapter instead of studying? Yes, It was me. I had a perfect idea of how I was going to end this chapter that I literally stayed up all night and spent all day writing it. I know, the last chapter was a little odd. I've never really written anything like that before.

Only one person reviewed, which makes sense because it's only been two days- Thanks to** darknessenvelopesme** for the sweet review! Also, two comments! You're joining **lovergirl8602 **on the cool side. *(^_^)*

Anyway, enjoy the fifth (and longest) chapter.

* * *

"Happy!" Lucy yelled in relief toward the blue exceed Lying against a tree trunk. It was nearly midnight. Her and Natsu had been looking since dawn to find him, and yet here he was right in front of the cherry blossom tree in the middle of town!  
"Hey, Happy!" Natsu yelled furiously, as he ran up behind Lucy. "What in the hell were you thinking?! I thought that you were in serious trouble! Lucy was really worried and-"  
He wasn't able to finish. "What do you mean Lucy was worried?" Happy looked at her with sad eyes, and whispered quietly, "But... why did you look for me..?"  
Lucy was instantly angered. "You're HAPPY. I worry about you all the time! You just..." her voice dropped to a whisper, "seemed a little more upset this time is all. I had to make sure you were okay."  
Natsu lowered his eyes to the ground and spoke quietly to Happy, "Happy, I-I'm sorry If I... I mean, I know I hurt you but if it affected- no. That's not right-"  
Happy instantly smiled. He flew straight into Natsu's Chest, causing him to fall backwards onto the grass forcefully. "It's okay, forgive you! Even though you can't even apologize..."  
"Hey! I was...distracted..." Natsu answered, getting up.  
"Oh really? By what..?" Happy flew around Natsu as they all began to walk back.

"Nothing!" Natsu replied, closing his eyes in anguish. The next moment he opened them, he saw Lucy wondering pretty far ahead. He instantly smiled at the thought of her coming to live with them. He didn't even have to tell Happy because he already seemed to have figured that one out somehow. He suddenly heard a quiet hum of words next to his ear.

"You...like...her..." Happy smirked evilly.

Natsu's face reddened at the memory of what happened earlier. "No I don't!"

The argument went on the whole time it took to get back to Natsu's house. Lucy opened the door to let the still fighting pair. Once inside, it was like a magic spell was cast- they instantly shut up and Natsu went to go look for extra blankets. In Happy's case, he went to look for something involving fish.  
"Anyone want tea?" Lucy called out down the main hall of the house. Two voices confirmed that they wanted tea, so she gathered everything she could find to make tea. This house was a mess... that would be the first thing she would do tomorrow. After all, during the 'encounter' she had earlier, he said that she could do whatever she wanted. Lucy was especially surprised that Happy didn't question he being here- almost like it was normal. It felt like she... belonged there. She was about to make tea, until she heard a gasp come from Happy next door. He ran through the hall to Natsu looking in a closet.  
"Natsu! Your sealed flame blade from Edolas is broken!" He said with a slight disappointment to his voice.  
Lucy blushed instantly at the memory of it-when she and Natsu had broken something earlier...  
"Wait, flame blade? From Edolas?" Lucy questioned amidst her thoughts, "Why'd you keep it?"  
Natsu took the broken piece of metal and smiled. "Yeah. Remember that magic shop? Well... I mean it looked cool," he said in a strangely calm tone. After a moment, he threw it into a pile of junk directly behind him and sighed dramatically. "It was already broken anyway."

"Hey! Don't make more of a mess than it already is!" Lucy yelled at him.  
The tea kettle interrupted their argument and grew louder with each passing second. Lucy immediately left them to enter the kitchen. She took out half cleaned cups and sighed. How could they live like this? Then she remembered- they were rarely even here! They always broke into HER house and took HER bed. In fact, a lot of people from the guild did that to her; Cana, Erza, Gray... Was she the only sane one around here?

Lucy decided to clean the cups herself and proceeded to pour the tea. Once she was finished, she walked out into the room, only to find two already sleeping figures on the floor.

Her eyes widened and she shrieked in surprise, "How could anyone possibly fall asleep that fast?!"

Lucy sighed once again while setting the tray down on the crowded table. She had better move them to the bed or something. They couldn't just sleep on the floor... She easily picked up Happy and set him on the bed, careful to not wake him. However, Lucy didn't know why she even bothered to move Natsu. He was far too heavy to pick up, let alone even move. When she tried, he conveyed in his sleep and fell directly on top of Lucy, grumbling in complaint to himself. Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment when she couldn't move the fire mage off of her. How awkward would it be if he woke up to this?

But, Natsu's smell... there it was again. She couldn't understand why the smell calmed her so much. When she was in the infirmary, she remembered begging him to stay and get rid of them. They didn't show up as much, which gave her a terrible feeling in her stomach. Would that mean they were leaving or would that mean they would come back twice as strong?

His weight was starting to affect her breathing, so Lucy decided to wake him up instead.

"Natsu," she whispered, "Natsu, wake up."

"Lucy..." Natsu replied groggily, followed by a loud exhale. He wasn't awake, he was still dreaming.

She spoke a little louder this time. "Wake UP. You're CRUSHING-"

The sentence was interrupted by a quiet moan from Natsu. What the hell was he dreaming about?

"Lucy, D-don't leave... stay with..." he murmured out. Leave? Why would she leave? Was he really dreaming about her leaving?

After a long moment, she was finally able to roll him over to the side and off of her body. The time that she spent under him made her need for oxygen greater. Lucy gasped in a few breaths, got up, and covered Natsu with a blanket. She contemplated taking his bed; it would only be fair since he took her bed so many times before- but she decided to go with the couch. As she lay down, a bad feeling spread out from the pit of her stomach out through the rest of her body, but she assured herself that it was just a feeling and soon fell into a turbulent sleep.

When Natsu awoke, he was lying on the floor, halfway covered in a blanket. What happened? He sat up to look around and found Lucy unconscious on the couch, and Happy arising on the bed. He too, sat up, and looked over to Natsu, eyes growing into almost full circles.

"Natsu- you're on the ground?" he said obliviously.

Natsu thought for only a moment before finally concluding, "I think I fell asleep over there..." he indicated a few feet away from him, "but Lucy tried to move me- so I ended up here."

Happy jumped down and stretched. "We have to wake her up!" he said while walking over to Lucy. Happy was soon stopped by Natsu.

"No, Don't wake her up! Are you insane?" he hissed at the blue exceed, getting up.

Happy pointed to a clock. "But it's 12 in the afternoon!"

"Think... we found you around midnight last night. We got home at 2 in the morning, and she was probably up later than that trying to take care of us and sleep on that uncomfortable couch! We should let her sleep-"

"Okay, I get it," Happy sighed out, walking toward the kitchen. "But if I'm gonna listen to you, you're gonna listen to me!"

Natsu turned away from Lucy to stare at Happy is surprise. "Wha- AH! HEY!" Happy pushed him into the kotatsu and glared. "You're gonna clean up this room for Lucy!" he said vigorously.

"But WHY?" Natsu vulgarly opposed back.

"Because," Happy walked toward Natsu, leaned close and faintly said, "You li-ike herr."

"I-I do no-" Natsu hit his head against the wall unintentionally as he was trying to deny it. Why did he even bother?

Happy laughed and turned away. "Get to work... but don't wake Lucy up."

"YOU don't wake her up," Natsu mocked in annoyance, as he started to pick up things he had never even seen before in his life. Where the hell did he get a picture of a cactus? Oh, right. That was from a job he took on a few years ago. He picked up a fish statue- from the time he and Happy went to an amazing sea food restaurant two years ago. In fact, he was pretty sure that most of these things were memento's from trips. What could he say? Though he would never admit it, he was extremely nostalgic.

* * *

Lucy silently awoke. She weakly rubbed her eyes and sat up. As she looked at her surroundings, she found that she was in a complete different place than before. Who had moved her..?

She screamed in surprise at the anticipation. "KYAAA! Where the-" She stopped herself mid sentence and took one more look around her, and sighed in relif. No- she wasn't in a different place; This was still Natsu's house, and she was still on his couch. Everything was just...cleaner.

"Rise and shine, Lucy!" Happy ran in and jumped into her chest.

She pulled her arms back in hesitation. "Ha-ppy?"

He looked up from his hug and smiled pleasantly. "Did you see our surprise?"

"This... you did this?" Lucy's eyes widened in shock.

He finally let her go from his grasp. "Not just me. Natsu helped too- though it WAS my idea. Since you were sleeping from such a long time, we-"

"Wait... What time is it?"

"Umm... about 2-"

She jumped up from her position and Happy flew back to save himself from falling. "IT'S 2?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" As soon as she finished screaming, Lucy ran through the front door into the what was now rain. What was she doing?

"NATSU! LUCY'S RUNNING AWAY IN THE RAIN!" Happy screamed in panic as he ran out after her. Natsu appeared and followed right behind him. What the hell was she thinking? She was going to get sick in this much rain! Why did she run off in the first place?

Meanwhile, Lucy ran as fast as she could. She had to get there- she just had to get to the landlady. Landlady had said yesterday that if she didn't come get all of her things by noon, she would have to get rid of them due to business rules... Letters to her mom, her stories, Michelle, mementos of her father... they would all be gone. The building came in site and Lucy ran even faster, almost slipping in the puddles she passed along the way.

"HEY LUCY! DIDN'T THINK WE WOULD EVER SEE YOU HERE AGAIN- DON'T FALL IN!" Two very familiar men on a boat passed as she ran. She didn't have enough energy or time the answer them.

The front doors burst open violently as she ran in and up the stairs to her former apartment. She stopped to gasp in her breath once she was up the stairs, and braced herself for the possible tragedy that lie ahead. The door quickly opened and she found that it was completely... empty. Empty. She was too late...  
The landlady slowly trudged up the stairs to face the celestial mage. They'd left hours ago, but the whole time she was hoping the girl would make it. "I told you to come by at noon- It's hours past noon dear," the landlady said in a softer tone than usual. "I'm sorry- I tried to hold it off a little longer, but..." She trailed off. Lucy didn't say a word. At least she knew that no one did it intentionally.  
"Could you at least tell me... What they did with my stuff?"  
The landlady looked down in regret. "They got rid of it all- with magic. I'm so sorry Lucy."  
"It's alright," Lucy whispered back, head down in disappointment. "I'm sorry to have...wasted your time."  
As she finished speaking, she started to make her way down the stairs and out through the doors. Why? Why was life being so cruel to her? She didn't do anything wrong...  
When she reached the doors, she weakly opened them and slowly made her way out into the rain. How ironic. The more she moved forward, the weaker she became- She'd lost Michelle, her little sister... everything that her father ever gave to her was gone. Every letter to her mother was gone. Everything that was important was just gone. What else did she have? Lucy fell to her knees in anguish and cried. She didn't bother to hold it in. It was as if the rain was crying with her.

Natsu and Happy were nearing Lucy's building. Where else would she go? She wasn't at the guild, so she had to be here...

"Hey! Natsu, was it?" Natsu stopped in his tracks and looked over to the two men resting in a boat. They were the guys from a few weeks ago- the ones who had asked about Lucy. "If you're looking for Lucy, we're looking too," Natsu answered harshly, starting to make his way back in the path he was heading before. "Aye!" Happy said in agreement.

"No, that's what we were gonna tell you... Lucy passed by here a while ago. If you were the one who made her upset, you'd better keep your distance," one of the men answered back just as harshly.

"Upset?" Happy said blankly.

Lucy was upset? He had to find her. As soon as the man finished talking, his feet automatically moved forward in the direction he had been moving. The building came into view, and something unexpected was sitting outside, soaking wet in the rain. Lucy.

Natsu's feet carried him to Lucy, and he fell to his knees right in front of her.

"Lucy- why are you out here? It's raining and... you're gonna get sick," Natsu tenderly, taking off his scarf and draping it around her neck. As she looked up to him, he saw that she was crying- barley holding it in. Natsu's eyes widened in surprise and he grasped her by shoulders to embrace her.

"Lucy- what's wrong?" Happy's voice quivered in worry.

"Yeah... tell us what's wrong- please?" Natsu whispered near her ear in concern.

Lucy cried louder and grasped onto him. "Everything... e-everything is gone! I have n-nothing..."

"What's gone, Luce?" Natsu nudged on, becoming more desperate now.

"M-my letters... a-and Michelle..." she continued to sob.

Soon everything clicked. She was evicted... when people were evicted and don't get their things on time, someone comes along to rid them forever. They were the ones who made Lucy cry. Those bastards. Natsu didn't bother to press any further. "Happy, can you fly?"

"Yes, I can fly." Happy swooped up as if to prove his point.

"Good. I need you to go ahead of us and get some blankets- also some tea. Think you can?"

"Aye sir!" The cat flew away as quickly as he possibly could toward the house.

As he flew off, Natsu directed his attention to Lucy once again. He placed one arm under her back and placed another below her legs, lifting her up to carry her back.

She just kept breathing in his scent, and Lucy was soon able to stop crying. Natsu's even breathing was so calming- almost everything about his being was calming to her. Grasping tighter, she realized how much she needed him. Without the fire mage, she would most likely be insane now; maybe even dead.

"Lucy," Natsu spoke, continuing to look ahead, "Are you alright now?"

Instead of answering, she apologized. "I'm sorry."

Natsu's eyed widened. "For what?"

"For bringing you all the way out here...in the rain... just to-"

"Don't." His face was completely serious- the look Lucy hated.

"No, It's my fault you're out here," Lucy said, trying to weave herself from his grasp. "Put me down."

Natsu struggled to keep her in his arms."No."

"Let. me. go!" She pushed against his chest in anger. However, he wouldn't give in.

"Luce, calm... down!" He tried to speak calmly. When she wouldn't, he placed one of his hands under her head and quickly smashed his lips over top of hers.

At the sudden contact, Lucy stopped moving. Was he trying to shut her up? He knew there was no way she would have listened any other way- He really was cruel. In the midst of their kiss, he placed her on the ground and she pulled on his shirt to get closer.

Natsu grinned to himself. He always thought stories about kissing in the rain were so exaggerated... but being here right now proved that it could happen the exact way people say it does. Lucy's breath was becoming uneven, and Natsu was loosing himself faster and faster. This time he was the one who had to stop it. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed himself back softly, looking into her eyes in want. She really was the one temptation he couldn't have. Every time he kissed her, he lost it- even though every time they kissed it was his fault. Lucy looked down, cheeks turning red. He couldn't help but laugh.

"W-what's so funny?" She said, over exaggerating her anger.

"You!" He replied, holding his side.

She didn't even have to question why anymore. Lucy knew that he was laughing at her embarrassment. The embarrassment was becoming greater as he continued to laugh, causing her to punch him in the arm.

"Ha-hey! What was that for?" He held his arm in discomfort, and glared at the celestial mage.

"Come on," she glared back at him and started to quickly walk away. "We can't let Happy wait all day."

When she turned around, he followed grinning to himself. She was so cute when she was angry.

* * *

Lucy sighed in bliss. Taking a hot bath after being out in the rain was really relaxing. More importantly; it had been almost 3 days since she'd bathed last. That was a long time when normally you would bathe every day. She immediately curled in a ball at the thought of what happened earlier, feeling sorry for herself. Lucy knew that she really shouldn't feel that way, but she couldn't help it. Everything was gone...

Amidst her thoughts, the shampoo bottle was knocked over and hit the ground loudly, taking her by surprise. She was still dazed from earlier when Natsu had kissed her. That bastard kissed her every time she was the angriest, which ended up making her angrier. Why didn't she have any self control? The drain was pulled and she wrapped her hair in a towel. As soon as he was dry, she instantly pulled on a long T-shirt and shorts.  
"_Lucy_..." A voice called out from what sounded like a muffled, echo filled hallway... She froze when it called out again.

'_Oh no. Please no_...' she pleaded to herself, dropping everything. '_Please don't let them be back-_'  
"_How rude. We missed you... And we still haven't finished our contract with the master_," they spoke as a demented choir, in multiple nightmarish voices.  
The towel wrapped around her head instantly unraveled and dropped to the ground as she hit the wall lost in an alternate reality of... her own death. Lucy's death; it was right here, in Natsu's house. It was- the knife. The knife in the drawer right across from this bathroom. All she had to do was go...  
She immediately caught herself and held onto the edge of the bathtub. '_NO_!' She mentally yelled at them in horror. '_NO WAY IN HELL WILL I KILL MYSELF_!'  
"_But it was your idea_," they all hissed at her is unison. "_You wanted to. You still want to. Go ahead Lucy._"  
"No... This can't be happening..." She whimpered out loud in the corner as they repeatedly showed her the vision. After what seemed like a never ending cycle, the vision stopped.  
"_You give us no choice_!" They yelled at her for the first time ever, "_We have to be free now_!"

Her eyes widened and she tried to stand up to open the door. When she lost control of her legs, she yelled out to the only person who could help her now; "NATS- a-aa..!" Her voice was cut off. They were gaining more control and depriving her of air.  
"_SHUT UP_!" They yelled, sounding all as one voice now. She was suddenly thrown into a vortex of her own mind. After a moment, her body was moving, only... She wasn't moving it. It was the demons within her. They had gained full control and she was watching. All she knew was that she had to get out. She had to gain control back.

Meanwhile, Natsu was laying on the couch thinking- not just about one thing. Happy had left to go to the guild on some 'secret mission,' leaving him and Lucy here. He really was odd.

A loud noise from the bathroom interrupted his thoughts and he sat up. Lucy? Was she alright? He stood up completely and started to move but the door opened on it's own. He stopped halfway between his steps and Lucy appeared to be just fine.  
"Are you... Okay?" He said cautiously.  
Lucy walked right past him, not even uttering a word, and started making her way to the kitchen. What the hell? He walked slowly over to her as she searched the drawers.  
"Are you...mad at me for kissing you? I just wanted to-" he paused and caught a glimpse of the object Lucy held in her hand to her own chest."L-LUCY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He screamed in horror, moving quickly toward her.  
Lucy turned immediately, aiming for his chest, but stabbing him in the arm he used to block it. Natsu hissed in pain, trying to hold the bleeding wound closed.  
She just stood there, knife in hand and face sadistic. Natsu then realized that it wasn't Lucy- it was them. The voices she'd been talking about getting stronger- they were strong enough to completely take over her body now?!  
Only for a moment, he saw a change in her eyes. They went from black to brown and she collapsed to the ground gasping. As soon as she could move her arms, she threw the knife far away from her.  
"Na-atsu... get a-away fro-m me...I'll-..!" She screamed a blood curdling scream in panic, grabbing a hold of her head. She was trying to hold them back. All Natsu could do was stand back in terror. What could he possibly do against her own mind without hurting Lucy? Her eyes changed back to a dark black, and they were able to gain enough control to stand back up. He understood everything. She was trying to escape, but they were keeping her locked up in her own mind to watch her death... by her own hand. They were sick.  
"Let. Her. Go." He said in furry, igniting in flames.  
"Idiot. We can't do that." They mocked.  
When he stepped forward, they lunged to grab the knife and raised the knife up to Lucy's neck in warning. Her eyes flashed in panic, but turned back hastily.

"Don't come any closer. We won't hesitate... This may be our vessel but its not the only one we have." Natsu noticed that her legs were shaking- in a way that was a good thing. Lucy was still alive in there-fighting to escape.  
"Lucy, hold on. I'll get you out," he spoke in an angered tone. Her body started to tremble, and her screaming returned, but it didn't last long.  
"NATSU..!"  
The voices hissed an inhuman noise at her, pushing her back. "DON'T PROVOKE HER!"  
Suddenly the knife was thrown into the air at Natsu. He was able to dodge it just in time and caught himself on the floor. They were trying to murder him now.  
"DO YOU THINK WE WANT THIS?! IT'S OUR MASTERS DESIRE!" They grabbed whatever they could find now, pelting him with it. Natsu moved closer with every item thrown. He grabbed Lucy's legs, tripping her and mounting her body until they were below him.  
They hissed quietly in defeat. "Sorry, but for us to let her go, you're going to make a deal with us."  
Natsu held their arms down with vigor and growled in hatred. "No. Way."  
Out of the darkness, Lucy's screams filled the room once more. "N-NO! STOP I-IT!"  
What in the hell were they doing to her?! Since they were in her mind, it must be that they could control everything- even the pain that she felt.  
"Lucy..!" He hesitated, releasing her hands. Once it was quiet again the voices grinned wickedly at Natsu.  
"I told you... We've become more powerful. Since we are in full control, you're going to listen to us."

The fire mage trembled in furry. "You're monsters."

"Let us go so we can talk properly," they spoke calmly.

Natsu hesitated, but soon dismounted Lucy's body and stood back. They stood up and looked directly into his eyes. Lucy didn't seem to be fighting them.

"You may have heard earlier... We want to leave this body," they started to say.

"Then why don't you leave?" He interrupted in enmity.

"Please, let us finish. Our master- the man who attacked this girl the night you came- he cast a spell. We were created by magic for one purpose; To be his pawns," They looked down at the ground, expressionless. "He wants to kill you Natsu, but even then we won't be released from this body. To be released, we would have to kill Lucy-"

"NO WAY IN HELL! I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT!" Natsu disrupted once again in anger.

"Calm down!" They screamed in reply. "There's another way, but... we don't know what it is."

"You... don't know?" Natsu said, voice growing intense.

"Yes. So about our deal- We'll hold onto Lucy until you find a way to get us out of here. If you can't seem to find a way, we'll just kill ourselves along with her. Do we have a deal?" They held out her hand waiting for an agreement.

What could he do? If he said no, they would just kill her now... but if he agreed, he still may not be able to save her. He firmly grabbed the hand awaiting his as stared deep into their eyes, glaring. "Fine."

They smiled, slightly amused at how angry he was getting. "We never could understand human emotions."

"Don't you think it's about time you let her out?" Natsu said, voice quietly trembling. They could be doing anything to her right now. In that moment, the once black eyes he was looking into turned brown, and Lucy's face changed to look utterly petrified. Her legs gave out and she fell to the floor, gasping for air. Natsu dropped to the floor next to her, instantly grasping her face in terror.

"Lucy! Please tell me you're okay!"

She looked up at him weakly. "I-I'm... powerless now...They can take over at any time-"

"What do you mean?" he spoke in panic.

"T-they're holding me hostage. They can take over whenever they want now," She said back, voice shaking and body trembling violently. "I tried to kill you..." Lucy whispered, looking down.

"No, It wasn't you. It was them," he whispered back, pulling her close to him."Can they... hear me?"

"Yes. They know everything."

This was terrible. He couldn't hear them, but they could hear him. There was no way he would be able to speak back to him without hurting Lucy. Natsu had a plan, but he would have to find someone who could speak to the voices directly- Someone who could manipulate thoughts and rid them of their very existence... and he knew just the person.


	6. Chapter 6

Well HELLO there! I know i'm late... Sorry :( But a lot of things are happening in my life at the moment. It's kind of effecting my writing and I really need to get myself back into the zone- Please forgive me if this chapter isn't the best.

Special thanks to** Celtika82 **for the amazing idea! I used the hell out of it. ^_^

Also... **Warning- **I kill someone in this chapter. If you don't like the idea of character death, you may not want to read this.

* * *

"Wait, wait... Explain this to me again. What's going on with Lucy?" Hibiki questioned once more.  
Natsu sighed in annoyance. He had traveled all this way the the Blue Pegasus guild to reach this guy. If he was so smart, why did he act so dumb? He hesitated leaving Lucy and Happy themselves, so he left them at the guild under close protection. He couldn't bring her with him because if she'd heard his plan, the voices would have too... And who knows what they would have done knowing he was planning to completely destroy them.  
"Okay- but try to pay attention this time, idiot." Natsu rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. Hibiki glared at him with dark eyes. If anyone was the idiot, it was Natsu.  
"Lucy is under Some type of...curse. There are voices in her head that can take over her body any time they want. You can use telepathy and information transfers, right?"  
Hibiki nodded, gesturing to him to hurry up.  
"Well, it's just a theory... But maybe you can somehow replace the voices in her mind with something else- like switching them out. Then they wouldn't exist anymore and everyone's happy."  
"You mean like... Overriding it?"  
"Yeah, exactly! So will you help?"

The caster mage took a moment to think about the situation before turning away, and saying in disbelief, "Yeah, I don't know. Sounds more like she's insane to me. I've never even heard of a magic like that before..."  
"Wait!" Natsu ran around to the front of him in panic, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"You can't be serious... You're turning your back on Lucy? Didn't she save you once before? You owe her!"  
"You don't understand. I want to help, but if something goes wrong-"  
"Why would it go wrong? You've done this before!"  
"Never with multiple minds in one! And what's worse; you want me to replace HUMAN THOUGHTS. Who knows what could happen?! I could end up killing us both!"

Natsu glowered. "Those things aren't human. They're monsters."

"If it's in a human mind it's considered human."

"That's a dumb-"

"It's just the way it works! I'm not going to end up losing anyone else!"

After he yelled that sentence, everything was quiet. Both men stood across from each other, tensing every time the other would breath. That's right... Hibiki had lost Karen. Apparently he'd never gotten over her death, but Natsu had never seen this side of him before- the side that wasn't calm and collected. The silence started to ring in both of their ears and Natsu was the one who broke it.  
"Please," he desperately whispered, falling to his knees in front of his verbal opponent. Hibiki stared down in surprise. Was this really the unbeatable fire dragon slayer kneeling before him?  
"Don't abandon her. They'll kill her if I don't find a way... I need to at least try- I don't know what else to do," his voice was trembling. "You don't know how badly I want to get rid of them... but... they're in her body. I can't touch them without hurting her." Natsu finished speaking, clenching his fists in anticipation. After a moment, the room fell silent again- a silence that was intense and agitating, echoing in his ears.  
"...Okay."

After a moment, he looked up to find Hibiki, looking away almost like he was uncomfortable.  
"I'll help, but you have to get up. I don't want to see you or anyone else begging for my help."

He turned slowly to walk away while quickly adding, "Wait for me at your house- and make sure no one from the guild is around. This is a secret from Lucy, correct? Whatever she knows, the voices do as well?"

Natsu nodded to him, though Hibiki couldn't see with his back turned.

"Figure out how were going to do this without them knowing. I'll see you in two days."

The Blue Pegasus Guild's door closed loudly behind Hibiki as Natsu stood up. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to convince Lucy into trusting him without telling her the plan. If they could take over her body at any time, they may be able to realize it before Lucy even does... Even if he gets Lucy to trust him, the voices may not. He had to work around multiple minds- predicting how they will process what was happening as well. Maybe he could just do it while she was sleeping, but do the voices sleep? He couldn't ask her now...

Natsu moaned in annoyance as he tried to piece it all together. He'd just have to do it- there was no other way.

* * *

"Just shut up and follow me."

"Follow you where? And why can't Happy come?"

"Just trust me," Natsu answered Lucy vaguely as he led her to his house from the guild. Happy didn't question him like this so why was she? Honestly, it was just making him more stressed out and irritated. If this didn't work, everything was going to be pointless. If he lost her from this... If she died...

Lucy's heavy sigh interrupted his thoughts. "Honestly, I feel like you're gonna murder me or something... why can't you just tell me where we're going?"

"My house. Stop asking so many questions," Natsu moaned in discomfort.

As they came to the corner of Natsu's house, he started to walk slower. He could smell him- Hibiki. He was right behind those few trees...

As Hibiki came into sight, Natsu smirked and let go of Lucy's wrist. "So, you didn't bail after all."

"I seriously considered it." Hibiki's facial expressions were neutral as usual. He looked over at Lucy, his face veiled in calmness, but obviously wondering why Natsu didn't try to hide anything.

"Are either of you going to tell me what's going on?" Lucy looked confused, slightly angry.

Natsu turned around to look deep into her eyes. His eyes, that normally looked so reassuring, were fearful- and it scared her. He came close enough to grab her shoulders.

"Do you trust me, Lucy?"

Lucy quietly let out a small sound of confusion. "What are you talking about?" she whispered in apprehension, "...Why... do you look so afraid?"

When he didn't answer, her face became calmer as he looked into hers.

"I trust you."

Then she looked to Hibiki and faintly smiled, saying, "I trust you too... so whatever you're doing, do it."

Natsu hesitantly pulled away from her trembling body. She was trying to hide her fear.

As he passed to walk to Lucy, Hibiki said quietly, "Stay close... I really don't know about this."

Natsu walked toward the back wall of his home and he leaned up against the wall, muscles tensing and unsure thoughts swimming though his mind. He saw Lucy and Hibiki standing close now, both unsure about what was about to happen. As he lifted up both of his hands, a screen pulled up bearing multiple things neither Natsu or Lucy could quite understand. After multiple buttons were pressed, a downloading bar appeared above her head, as her eyes widened as it transferred.

The voices echoed one another in confusion, trying to figure out what this man was doing.

Hibiki held two fingers to his head, while still holding the screen up. All he had to do was break down the barrier, and then he would directly attack them. Just before they noticed...

And for a moment, everything was perfectly silent.

Then, all at once, everything went to hell.

Lucy's ear piercing screams echoed into dense forest, and her body suddenly produced a barrier- a blueish white blinding light- almost like lightning. Natsu broke from his position and ran towards the scream. Before he could realize it, Hibiki had been rejected by the barrier and thrown violently into the trees, Natsu following quickly behind him. Natsu was the first to pull himself up. He ran back over to Lucy, only to be thrown back again, screaming in annoyance.

"Lucy!" He screamed out over the loud tone of the electric field.

"_Lucy's not here!" _The voices answered in her place, screaming in rage._ "How DARE you. How dare you try and destroy us?! All we wanted was freedom!"_

In the midst of their shrieks, Lucy pulled from the force holding her back. It was a mixture of both of their screaming voices now. Natsu couldn't help but sigh in relief; He couldn't lose her- not yet. He had to know that she was there.

The blockade lost force, and he took that chance to run past it to her. The light was almost too blinding to see anything, but he looked despite the condition. Her hands found his, and almost immediately the lightning stopped, followed by her gasping in breaths of torment. They tumbled backwards from the sudden change of gravity. From somewhere behind the trees, a choking sound was heard from Hibiki. When it stopped, panic was heard in his voice.

"N-natsu... Lucy? LUCY!?"

"Calm...down. We're over here..." Natsu weakly replied out.

Hibiki emerged from the trees with a look of confusion on his face. It quickly turned to horror as his gaze fell to Lucy, body jolting a stop. Natsu instantly became worried.

"What is it?" he asked forcefully.

He hesitated. "I... can't sense... Lucy..." He said to the fire mage in a weak whisper, falling to the ground. "...What have I done..?"

Natsu looked to her face in confusion. She wasn't moving- she wasn't even breathing.

To the side of him, Hibiki was mumbling to himself, "I did everything... I couldn't hear them... they- repelled me? That can't be..."

"L-luce..." His voice trembled in turmoil. His shaky hand reached up to stroke her face, but there was no reaction. He began to shake her body fiercely. No, she wasn't dead- she can't be dead... there was just no way.

"LUCY! Listen to me... can you hear me? Please! Tell me you're awake!" He continued to shake her until he saw any kind of movement- even the slightest movement would relive him. If he lost her now, what would have been the point of that kiss? What would have been the point of confessing his love to her? All of those jobs and saving her countless times, only to have her do the same? Where would he go? Who would yell at him constantly? If he lost her now... everything was pointless.

Hibiki looked back over in silence, sadness and regret filling his eyes.

"Natsu, She's-"

"No! She's not gone!" he screamed in denial, "She... she can't be! Nothing's..."

"I can't sense her. I-"

An almost silent moan of pain interrupted their conversation. Natsu's head turned back to the once still Lucy in his lap. Her fists clenched and unclenched slowly, and he gasped in relief leaning forward over her.

Hibiki suddenly jumped into the picture; He pulled up a force-blast and threw her frail body away from them. Natsu looked at him in horror. He was even more of a monster than the voices!

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING-"

"That's not Lucy." Hibiki answered in a strong voice, standing up from his position. "That's the disturbance I heard in her mind."

Natsu froze as Lucy slowly stood up from the impact. She brushed herself off and turned around to reveal her face. As she looked at both of them, her eyes changed from brown to a dark crimson. Her head turned slightly to one side and a smile appeared to be one her face- it looked completely demented.

"_You're Natsu Dragneel, aren't you?" _They spoke as a whole new voice now.

All the two mages could do was stare back in defensive positions.

"_Well isn't that nice. I thought I would have to look harder for you but this girl brought me directly to you."_

"Where is she?" Natsu said back, voice surprisingly calm.

"_Gone, along with her last possessors. I was sent here to take care of some business, so if you don't mind..."_

Her arms reached toward the ground and pulled out it weapon. It was as if they pulled darkness out of sun- it didn't seem possible the way Lucy's body produced such a intensely dark fog, now hurling toward Natsu. However, he didn't move.

"Gone..." he said quietly, unaware of what was going on.

"NATSU! MOVE!"

Hibiki pushed him out of the way and threw up a force shield that the dark power was easily pushing through. Natsu was still in a trance, and he couldn't hold it off much longer.

"Natsu, listen to me... I know Lucy is alive, you just have to move! Stay alive for her!"

"Lucy's... gone..."

"No! She's not gone! She's in the power they're producing!"

The magic started to push and leak through parts of the shield. He needed to move now, but Natsu wasn't listening.

"YOU HAVE TO PROTECT HER! IF YOU DIE, WHO WILL SAVE HER?! MOVE, IDIOT!"

Hibiki veiled him in a protective shield and force blasted him away, leaving himself unprotected. However, he had a plan.

His fingers rose to his head and he tried to search for any sign of Lucy. It was all him now.

"_Lucy... are you there?" _Hibiki spoke to his lost comrade, _"Please answer me. Natsu needs you now, you have to come back to him-"_

"NAHH!" He screamed out in pain as the dark vortex hovered above him, draining all of the magic out of him. He had to be faster.

"_Listen to me Lucy! You can still pull yourself out, you just... have to-_ NGG!" He curled to his side and gasped in a shaky breath. The vortex had taken every drop of his magic- all he had left to do was yell at her until she came to her senses.

"COME ON!" He screamed over the noise with the last of his energy, "THINK OF EVERYONE AT THE GUILD! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO LOOSE YOURSELF TO THOSE THINGS?! FIGHT!"

It was as if a switch was pulled, instantly changing the darkness to light and stealing away the noise. Everything began to travel back in time...The dark energy returned to Lucy's body and the air around them became light again. Her body collapsed once more to the ground, and she was left breathless and unconscious.

Hibiki couldn't help but smile to himself in relief. He was able to pull her out without using his magic... and possibly even save her from them for good. He saved Natsu from being killed. There were so many things he wanted to tell them, and so many things he wanted to tell his guild... but his time was stolen away by that dark void. He knew that he wouldn't live to see any of them again.

"Karen... I'm coming to you- just... wait a little longer," he whispered breathlessly to the sky. He smiled to himself again and his eyes closed until the world around him began to disappear.

At least he knew that no one would forget him.

At last he would see _her_ again.

* * *

"Natsu... wake up- please..."

A grieving voice pulled the motionless dragon slayer from his unconscious state. Was that... Lucy?

His eyes snapped open at the memory of what had just happened, only to lay eyes on a tearful and worried blonde above him. Natsu choked in a gasp of surprise at her presence and proceeded to sit up- but he was held back by a jolt of pain traveling through his side.

"Natsu!" Lucy quickly leaned forward to catch his head before it hit the ground. What had she done? She'd hurt both of her protectors without even thinking.

"I'm fine... but where's Hibiki?"

Lucy's eyes grew wide at the question, and Natsu saw the pain they held. Her hands started to shake and she clenched her fists to hold back the tremor. Oh no.

"I..."

Natsu sat up and embraced her quivering hands with his.

"I- killed him," she finally whispered, disgusted with herself. The hot tears didn't hold back and they began to fall, leaving trails of water behind.

Almost as if she was trying to make herself feel worse, she screamed, "I KILLED HIM! I DIDN'T EVEN HOLD BACK..!" Her voice broke into sobbing and she turned away from Natsu, ashamed.

Natsu's eyes were wide with regret. He was the one who had brought him here, so it was his fault that Hibiki was dead... He'd killed someone with his stubbornness- he should have listened.

Natsu's face changed expressions from anger to sadness. Lucy felt like it was her fault when really, all of this was Natsu. None of this would had happened if she'd never been attacked- and she would have never been attacked if the man wasn't after Natsu. She was being tormented every second of every day all because of him.

"It's not your f-"

"Don't! Don't you dare say it's not my fault, Natsu!" Lucy screamed through her tears.

He tried to grab her shoulders to embrace her, but she roughly pulled away.

"Stay away from me... I'll hurt you."

After a moment, everything became silent. Natsu was finally able to stand up, and he walked over to pick up Hibiki's lifeless body. He looked so peaceful- No sign of regret anywhere on his face.

Natsu hesitantly walked back to Lucy. When she didn't move, he was the first to speak.

"Lucy, we have to go back to the guild- They're the only ones that can help us."

A long silence passed before she spoke again. "I can't face them like this..."

"Everyone there is family, don't you understand? No one is going to hate you... it's not your fault."

"But it is! It's MY body, and MY head- It's ME!"

"Even if it was, they wouldn't care! All they want to do is protect you, Luce!"

Lucy stood up slowly from her position, still facing away from him.

"If they want to protect me, then I'm going to protect them too." She began to slowly walk into the forest in front of her without an explanation.

"Wait! Where are you-"

"Go without me... I'll be there- soon."

Yes, she was going to protect them. The only way that could happen, however, is if she left. She had to distance herself from everyone else and she wouldn't come back until the voices were gone.

Natsu was worried, but he couldn't go chasing after her with a dead man in his arms. Maybe she just needed some time alone... but he promised himself that he would look for Lucy if she didn't show up at the guild by tomorrow.

* * *

Review replies time!

**Thinkbubbles101**- Yes I know! I felt the exact same way while writing it. (;-_-) Also, that comment about Juvia made me laugh so much, So thanks for that. ^_^

**Celtika82- **Thanks for letting me use your idea and for the awesome reviews! I know, I feel like he overreacted to it just a little, but that's just how he is sometimes. I think it's adorable:P

**Darknesenvelopesme- **Thanks for the nice review! I'm glad my writing can be intense- that's exactly what I was going for :D


	7. Chapter 7

Hello my fellow readers! I'm so sorry... It ended up taking two weeks. I've just finished moving to my new house, so hopefully a new chapter will be up next weekend (although, I might have to take two weeks again.) It's been such a hard week for me- but thanks to you guys reading and reviewing, I think i'll be okay. I'll try to get rid of this cancerous writers block problem that I am having and update sooner. I love all of you!

Enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

"She's still hasn't come back?"

Mira frowned and answered, "Sorry... I haven't seen her,"

Natsu sighed in annoyance. It's been three days since the death of Hibiki. He'd been the one who brought Hibiki back to the Blue Pegasus guild, and seeing everyone's reactions made him feel guilty. The all seemed like a mess without him, but of course his own guild would act no differently. When Lisanna was thought to be dead, everyone grieved for a long time- especially Elfman and Mira. Natsu hated to think that Lucy was feeling guilty about it, just like Elfman had. He hated to think of her in that kind of pain when in fact it wasn't her fault- it was his. If he'd never asked Hibiki to help, he wouldn't have been dead right now... but then again Lucy might be dead without him, and as much as he hated to think about it, he'd rather she'd be the one alive.

"GAH! What am I doing!" Natsu slammed his head into the table. How could he think about that? Why was he choosing who he'd rather have live? He felt like a terrible person, though he couldn't bring himself to say he wasn't glad it was Hibiki instead of Lucy.

"Natsu... you okay?" Gray appeared next to Natsu in only his underwear.

"Why do you care, stripper?" Natsu insulted back, annoyed by his presence.

Gray looked down at himself and half gasped in surprise, even though it wasn't to anyone else in the guild. He quickly collected himself and spoke harshly to Natsu again, "Stop being depressed. It's starting to annoy the crap out of everyone."

"Stop bossing me around! I can be depressed if I want-"

"You want to be depressed? Pathetic."

"No, I don't want to be depressed, and I'm NOT DEPRESSED, idiot!"

"You trying to pick a fight, flame brain!?"

"Only if you're ready for me, ice princess!"

Though angered, Gray was the one who pulled out of the argument first, and sighed. "Why don't you just go look for Lucy if you're so worried? There is really only one place she could go."

"Woah woah woah, he can't just go look for her. It's not that simple," Cana interrupted, gulping down another drink of beer, causing Gray and Natsu to turn to her in confusion.

"Yeah? Why not?" Gray questioned for both of them.

"Women are delicate creatures. When we're upset, you can't just run after us and apologize-"

Natsu spoke up, "I don't have anything to apologize for! This is about Hibiki..." He paused and looked down to the table not far from his eyes. "I think she feels guilty about it..."

Cana raised one finger as if to prove her point, but she froze, frowning, and setting the barrel she was holding down. "Why would she feel guilty?" Her voice sounded almost as if it was going to melt any second. Her eyes looked as if it would have burned through the air. After a long awkward moment, Cana jumped from the table, knocking nearly everything over in the process, and pulled Natsu's face close to hers, looking into his eyes in anger.  
"Listen to me Natsu; you are going to find Lucy right now and you are going to bring her here to the guild. Got that?"  
Before Natsu could even answer, he found himself being thrown outside of the guild and having the doors close on him.

"Anything for you, Cana," he answered to himself in a mocking tone as he began to walk towards his house. He could hear the faint voice of Elfman saying "Cana, you're a real man!" instantly causing Natsu to roll his eyes. The guild really was great. It didn't matter what anyone else said; a guild is suppose to be like family. It angered Natsu every time he came across a guild that was strictly business- guilds that would kick out of anyone who seemed "useless" without a second thought. Fairy Tail may be the craziest and most destructive guild out there, but everyone cared for one another, and that's why Natsu refused to ever leave- everyone there was his family. Family wasn't suppose to leave a depressed member alone, by themselves.

As his eyes wandered to the scenery around him, Natsu rested his gaze on the orange and red stained sky. Was it already sunset? He started to do the math- Lucy's been gone exactly three days since that day. Of course she'd be sad but... wouldn't she have come back earlier? Something was wrong.

As Natsu's house came into sight, he saw Happy, who'd stayed home earlier that day, laying in the grass with a slightly crumbled up paper to his side. His cheeks were stained with tears and an arm covered his face in agony.

Happy heard the rustle of the grass as Natsu walked over and reached for the note lying beside him. He cringed at the memory of it's contents and instantly regretted leaving it there in plain sight. He threw his free hand over top of Natsu's to stop it.

"Don't read it... You'll hate it," his voice became smaller and smaller with each word.

Despite Happy's plea, he unfolded the paper carefully as if he was easily breakable and delicate. He saw the scribbled writing on the outside, reading: _Natsu and Happy._

He gulped, terrified of what it would say. It was from Lucy, no doubt. As his head turned to Happy once more, he saw a serious look in his eyes that rarely ever appeared. This must have been bad- but he couldn't waste anymore time staring at it. He had to read it.

With trembling hands, Natsu pulled apart the letter and began to read.

_Natsu,_

_I'm sorry, but I had to leave. I'm not coming back... at least, until I can find a way to be fully myself again. You can be as angry with me as you want, just please- don't come looking for me. By the time you read this, I will have been gone for a while. Of course I wasn't going to leave without telling you- and don't worry, I'm fine. I know exactly where I am going. Tell the guild that I'm sorry... I hate to think that anyone would miss me, especially when I've tried to kill them- I have thoughts and visions of their death every time I see any one of them. I don't want to hurt anyone else- I don't want to be a ruthless monster anymore. I can't forgive myself for what happened with Hibiki... If it had been anyone in the guild, I wouldn't know how to live. That's why I have to leave; I need to protect everyone. You all protected me so many times- let me pay you back for it. _

_I'll miss you Natsu... So much. I can't bring myself to imagine life without you- I wouldn't choose it, yet I'm forced to._

_It's probably the worst time to say so, but... I love you. _

_-Lucy_

Natsu's eyes began to prick with bitter tears. How could she do this to them? How could she do this to the guild? Putting herself in danger like that was unnecessarily stupid and pointless. Obviously she knew it would hurt them- she even left a note. He couldn't believe he let Lucy go so easily. His Lucy- she was... Gone. Vanished into nowhere- her last words to him right here; but he couldn't look anymore._  
_He collapsed next to Happy, veiling his face with shaking hands. His body began to quake with violent sobs. It was just like Hibiki's death- only she came back. She wasn't dead. If Lucy was serious about this... She wasn't coming back this time. It would be almost like she was dead, and Natsu couldn't imagine life with her._  
_"She...She'll change her mind. She has to... Natsu?" Happy weakly whispered, hands draped over his eyes._  
_When Natsu didn't answer, Happy continued. "I mean , she's our partner. Partners don't abandon each other when in need. She needs us, and we need her-"_  
_"You don't get it. She thinks she is helping us, Happy." Natsu interrupted, breaking out of his trance. "But she's not. Shes making things worse for us and the guild. Lucy doesn't understand how much everyone will miss her, and worry about her...That's why I..."_  
_"You're going to go find her, huh?" Happy finished._  
_Natsu stopped and slowly pulled himself up, looking toward the horizon. Of course he was going to look for her. He'd mentioned many times before, not just in his mind but to Lucy as well, that he loved her. Natsu wasn't the type to lie to others about his feelings- at the very least he would hide them. He knew he loved Lucy like he knew flames burned; like he knew tomorrow would come. He knew he loved her like he knew his name was Natsu Dragneel and hers was Lucy Heartfilia. He was going to find her- for Cana, for Happy, for the guild... But mostly for himself._  
_A usually unselfish person was allowed to be selfish once in a while, right?

* * *

Lucy stared up toward the gold tinted ceiling. The street lights were shining brightly through the window of her hotel room, keeping sleep well distanced. She was tired but, just couldn't seem to get anywhere with sleep. Her eyes ached with a tiredness that you can't just get rid of- a loneliness. It was literally pointless to go to rest now- after all, she was on her own again. It wasn't necessarily easy to sleep when you know no one else is going to be there. No one to hear you if you're having a nightmare, and no one to comfort you...

Damn she missed Natsu. She missed the guild. The annoying and unusual quietness lingering in the air was really starting to make her homesick.

Home...

That's right. She couldn't go back; not with these voices remaining in control of her. The thought of not being able to go to the one place that made her happy- it made her fail to hold in a long sob.

Why were they taking everything from her? Lucy couldn't recall ever angering anyone to the point of murdering her friends... so, is this person doing it just because he can?

"Why are you ruining my life!?" She screamed out loud, pulling from her thoughts. She turned over onto her stomach and buried her tear streaked face into her pillow. She'd been crying ever since she had left, and with no on to talk to, it was making things worse. The voices were unusually quite today, and Lucy didn't know weather to be relieved or worried. In her mind; quite meant no good, but lingering also meant no good. There was no way she could win against them; She convinced to herself a long while ago that there was no way she would ever get rid of them. Not if they reside in her body.

The thought made her sick.

A cold hand brushed against Lucy's shoulder, causing her to gasp and turn over quickly. Her eyes met shaded hazel ones.

"Loke..." Her voice broke mid sentence.  
For a long time, neither one of them moved. Lucy stared up at the celestial spirit standing over her, and he stared back- eyes narrowed with intensity. She hadn't summoned him, so he must have came here using his own magic... but why?

Lucy wiped away the liquid from her cheeks and sat up. "What are you doing here? If you get to close..."

In that instant, she found herself surrounded by the warmth of his arms. Lucy's eyes widened at the sudden change, leaving her breathless for only a moment. The sudden contact that she'd lacked for what seemed like eternity sent her into weak, powerless state. Lucy couldn't help but grasp onto his suit jacket and sob into his chest. God, what was wrong with her?

"You're too selfless, Lucy... Don't you see what you're doing to yourself?" Loke said quietly, voice rumbling through her ears as she lay on him lost in agony. When she didn't answer, he continued.

"It's not to late to go back."

After endless sobbing, the room became eerily quite as it had been before.

Voice still broken, Lucy whispered back an answer. "I can't- I can't go back. I'm not putting them in danger again... I-I don't want to kill anyone else."

"You didn't kill him, Lucy- THEY killed him. Don't you get it? It wasn't you." Loke's voice became harsher with each passing word.

"But it WAS me!" Lucy pushed away from what was her security blanket seconds ago. "They're in my body, and without me they can't hurt anyone!"

She looked down at herself and began to tremble. The voices inside of her head were swarming back to the center of her mind. Loke saw her eyes change to a dark crimson- It scared him. He didn't know the look well enough;Were they back?

"_Yes, Lucy." _The all new voice harshly whispered to her. _"You're the problem. If only..."_

"If only I was dead..." Lucy finished for them. Loke barley heard her comment, but as soon as it reached his ears he harshly grabbed the now limp celestial wizard by the shoulders and shook her back into her own state of mind.

"Lucy! Don't listen to them, okay? Can you hear me?" Panic leaked into his voice.

Lucy answered him weakly."Loke, y-you're..."

"What? What's wrong?"

"... You're hurting me."

He looked down and saw that he was still holding tightly to her arms... In almost the exact same place she had mysteriously gotten burned a few weeks earlier. He quickly let go.

"Sorry," Loke whispered.

So this was the power of the voices. They could completely take over ones body and force it to do whatever they pleased. He'd heard from the others at the guild that Lucy was completely aware of everything going on outside of her body while she was trapped inside... that she could feel everything. Just the thought angered him. He really wished that he could get rid of them- he hated to see his master this way. He'd never seen her so terrified and it broke his heart.

"I'll leave if you want me to, it's just that... everyone at the guild is worried."

Lucy didn't even take time to think about her response. "I told you... I... I can't go back."

Loke had a look of disappointment and sadness mixed into his facial features. It wasn't a good look for him. As he started to walk away, Lucy grabbed tightly to as much of his wrist as she could fit her hand around.

"Wait," she said, whimpering in a quite voice. He turned around to face her, saying nothing.

"Promise me... you won't tell them where I am. Please."

He didn't even take a moment to think about his reply. "Only if you promise me that you will go back to the guild at least once. It doesn't matter when, just ...as long as you do it."

Lucy hesitated, but finally gave in. What choice did she have? She had no where else to go.

"I promise," she said.

"Then I promise as well," Loke said, disappearing back into the celestial world slowly.

Then everything was silent.

Lucy fell back onto her bed, staring at the gold tinted ceiling once again. Did everyone really miss her? How can anyone miss someone who had tried to kill them only days before? She understood that the guild was all family, but she couldn't understand why they couldn't just let her go. Unless they wanted every other member of the guild to get hurt, Lucy would have to keep her distance even though she hated it.

Lucy curled onto her side and mentally confirmed to herself that she hated the silence.

She was alone again.

* * *

Review Replies time!

**Celtika82-** He's my favorite too! (The only one in the Blue Pegasus guild that seems to ever get serious.) I'm so glad that you liked it- I would have hated it if I underused that idea or made it dumb. So thanks! (^_^)

**darknessenvelopesme- **I don't think I would ever be able to kill her off. (;_;) I was trying to make it seem like she was going to die so i'm glad it came across that way! :) Thank you.

**Thinkbubbles101- **Yeah, I like to reply to people's comments. I'm so grateful to everyone reading this story! Thanks for the review.

**CharonLumia- **Welcome to my story! Thank you for thanking me, (weird sentence) and thanks for the review!

**Guest- **Ah- another guest. Thank you! I really appreciate your love. (^_^)

**Katy the Leopluradon- **Yay- Another new reviewer! Thanks for finding and reading my story. Also, thanks for the encouraging words; It really helps. (*_*)


	8. Chapter 8

I did it- I was able to get this out in a week! Again, I know I've said this a few times now; It might take a little longer for the next one. Thank you all who are following, favoriting, and reviewing. You guys are much appreciated! Also, I absolutely LOVE suggestions- I threw in a little NaLu scene at the beginning for** Portaphyro**. (-^_^-) Sorry it's a little short, but more is coming.

**Warning- This chapter is a little dark towards the end. (Remember the M.)** Also, I am trying to work on my writing skills with scenes like that, so be honest with how good of bad it came out.

Enjoy, my fellow readers.

* * *

"Lucy..." Natsu's voice vibrated through every ounce of Lucy's being. Whenever he kissed her, it reminded her that she was alive. Every time Lucy would react to Natsu's movements, he felt pleased with himself. In his mind, her sounds of pleasure were a far better reward than anything that could be given.  
"N-Natsu," she whimpered back to him, as he began to tighten his grip around her waist.  
The world around them disappeared completely- leaving only two, and two alone. The air was thick with the scent of desire.  
"Lucy- Please..." Natsu forced out between contact.  
In response she pulled him back to where he'd been before, moaning softly as he came closer.  
He moaned back loudly. Using whatever he could grip, he began to pull himself even closer. Her waist, her hair, her smell- everything was perfect. Everything about her tempted him.

The next moment, Natsu found himself falling.

Everything that was everything at that moment disappeared into the nothingness surrounding them. The girl just beneath him was gone. The pleading noises of pleasure were replaced with screams of Terror. Natsu closed and re-opened his eyes to find, in the darkness above him, Lucy was falling after him. She Was reaching out below herself and sobbing out something he couldn't quite make out.  
"Luce!" He managed to scream through his unwilling lungs.  
Lucy made a pointless effort to reapeat herself. It was then, Natsu decided to swim through the air up to her. He didn't have to try hard- cold fingers touched his in a spit second and he pulled himself closer. He re-wrapped his arms around the trembling girl, terrified of what was happening, and pulled her close to himself. Natsu could now make out the words she'd been screaming earlier as she said it once more.  
"Natsu, don't leave me."  
Before he could answer, she was dissolving into the air. Her body was turning into a beautiful star dust and dissolving away.  
"Lucy, wait!" He panickly said, hands searching for something to grab onto. After those few words, everything that was still there- still her- stopped disappearing away. Natsu held onto a faint feeling of hope that was quickly destroyed with what he saw next.  
A darkness- even darker than the air surrounding them both- reached out from behind the blonde, and began to pull her even farther back into the void directly above.  
"Please..." She whispered in agony, "...Don't leave..."  
The sadness in her face was too much to bear; it sent insufferable pain to every nerve in Natsu's body. As she was pulled away out of site, Natsu fell back onto what was now a flat surface, wide eyed. As the realization hit him, he began to see that he was loosing her. He realized that if Lucy was alone for much longer, she would cease to exist- The longer he goes without her, the more he'll lose himself...

And then he jolted awake.

* * *

"Natsu? Are you listening at all?" Erza all but whispered. Lately, he had been spacing off. It was that stupid dream. It kept returning- though it wasn't every night like it had been before.  
"How long, Mira?" Levy asked, not quite conspicuous, but still drawing most of the conversations around her to an almost eerie end. Mira's slight smile dropped to a frown as she thought for no less than a second.  
"10 months and about three days," she almost whispered.

Everyone was worried, even the few who decided not to acknowledge it. Master Macarov seemed to bring up his worry far more than anyone else. Almost everyone had occasionally caught him saying something about Lucy. However, despite how tense everyone in the guild was about the whole disappearance, Natsu was definitely the most on edge. He never brought up his reoccurring dreams, but the second he found her note, he didn't hesitate to read it to the guild members. After all, part of it did address them.  
Everyday was almost the same; he'd first resentfully wake up to silent house. Happy would already be up, doing something- it didn't seem to matter what, just something that assured him away from the depression. After he awoke, Natsu would walk to the guild and just sit in the guild hall for hours. Sometimes he would speak when spoken to, but usually his eyes were locked on whatever was in front of him. After the sun had pretty much gone down, he would walk home. It was an endless cycle. He hadn't gone on a mission since Lucy'd left- almost as if he were afraid to miss her unlikely return.

A loud crash coming from the guild doors broke the uncomfortable silence lingering in the room. Pieces of the door seemed to have broken off- that would explain why the crash was so loud. The noise was so disrupting that it caused some to stand up in surprise. Destruction was usually normal there, but this time was different.

As soon as Natsu laid eyes on who was in the doorway, something in him changed. His depressed attitude that had been non-stop for months turned into pure anger. He growled with a hatred so powerful that it caused some among the room to step back.  
He moved steadily to the front of the room- eyes hidden behind his bangs and fists clenched as he approached the man.  
"You..." He spat through his teeth.  
The man's voice seemed to rattle the atmosphere around him. "Ah, so you haven't forgotten. Funny- You don't even know my name."  
"I don't need to know it." Natsu's anger filled voice brought slight panic among everyone. "How dare you... HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO LUCY?"

"W-wait..." a small voice behind him breathed out, "He's the one who..?"

The space surrounding he and the man was instantly covered in thick a red barrier, but Natsu brushed it off, focusing on his enemy.  
"This way, there is no one to interfere," the man smirked.  
"Coward," Natsu insulted in response, aiming his fist directly at his opponent's face.He merely moved his head slightly to avoid what would have been a terrible blow.

"Just cooperate, dragon slayer. All I need to know is where you're hiding Lucy Heartfilia."  
"What makes you think I'd tell you that?"  
"Oh you'll tell me. Once you figure out what I'd have to do if I can't find her, you will."  
A moment of silence passed by quickly. In a split second, Natsu was trembling with anger, causing his body to light up in flames.  
"Listen, guy... I'm not interested in talking." His fist landed a punch deep into the other surface of the wall, right next to the mans head. He didn't seem intimidated at all.  
"Seems you've forgotten the lesson I taught you in that alleyway. Don't worry- I'll remind you." Natsu continued. He kicked into the man's side hard, but not inflicting pain like it should have. Granted, he hadn't been fighting for a while- but it shouldn't be this bad.  
The man across from Natsu chuckled, and he just glowered in response.  
"Don't you know where we are? You can't hurt me in here- it's my own magic."  
The fire mage looked around to find that he was completely surrounded. Yes- defensive magic. The barrier would protect it's user while keeping others trapped inside along with it...

Not good.

A sharp pain found Natsu's ribs and his hands instinctively reached to the area as a shield. He blindly tried to fight back the man releasing such a painful force, but he was thrown to the wall and hit with yet another painful blow.

"What is it? I thought you were more powerful than this, Natsu," his enemy mocked.

The cold floor served as a sanctuary for a moment as Natsu try to find his breath. This was the man that had hurt Lucy. This was the man that had caused her to leave in fear of hurting another person- So why couldn't he fight back? If a person this powerful was searching for her, he just had to defeat him. If he ever got to her... She would, no doubt, end up dead. She'd come so close so many times. There was no way Natsu was going to let her die at the hands of this man.

Another decisive kick reached his already beaten side, taking away his breath.

"You're no use. Maybe I should ask someone else-"

"NO!" Natsu roared.

The man grabbed a fistful of pink hair and yanked Natsu's head up until their dark eyes met.

His face became serious in a way that would send chills running down someone's spine. "Decide to cooperate?"

Natsu couldn't think of any other way to protect the guild then just giving the truth. Either way, he wouldn't find Lucy by asking them.

"I don't know. No one here knows." his voice was full of resentment.

The man overpowering him sneered, slamming the dragon slayers head into the rocky floor once again. Natsu winced in pain. He had to withstand it- he had to withstand it for the guild.

"Don't lie now, Natsu," he snarled.

"I'm. Not. Lying," he said back in dead seriousness.

It was then that the man realized he could not get any information out of them. If he wasn't giving in the protect these lowlifes, then as much as he hated to admit defeat, it must be the truth. He stood up and placed his foot atop the fire mage's head, adding more pressure with each passing second. Natsu visibly winced again.

"That information actually helps a lot- You have my gratitude."

That man was going after Lucy. Natsu grunted, trying to get his legs to work. He had to stop him, but he couldn't get his body to move.

The thick red barrier surrounding them both disappeared, unveiling the limp bodies of the guild members. To Natsu's horror, none of them were moving- not even Erza.

As the man walked out, Natsu roared, "BASTARD. WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Calm down, lizard," he chuckled back, "They're just unconscious. And I prefer Rell to bastard, if you don't mind."

Rell. So Rell was his name.

He was going to pay.

* * *

Rell walked through the big, brown wooden doors into a room of darkness. The only thing that brought even the slightest bit of light was the window- almost caressed by the drapes surrounding it. Inside the dark filled room there was only one man. This was the man behind everything; This was the man who could kill Rell at any moment without hesitation, and he wouldn't dare disobey.

"Master," Rell's voice came out in a humble manner. The man didn't answer, an he continued his sentence. "I couldn't complete the task. My apologies," his voice stood firm, but on the inside he was screaming for forgiveness. He only prayed that his master, Volco, wouldn't execute him for being so useless. But to his surprise, he waved it off as if it were nothing.  
"I didn't expect you do be able to complete such a difficult task; It will be a miracle if even I can complete it. Tell me- have you been able to remove the voices, or do they stand?"  
It took Rell a moment to compute everything that had been said, but he quickly answered, "Yes, Master. I've removed every last trace."  
"What information have you gathered?" Volco's voice was deep and calm.  
"Nothing on Dragneel. I only-" Rell was cut short. Something flew threw the air to his neck. Some invisible force was choking him- it must have been his master's magic.  
Volco barley waved his hand to activate the magic. Darkness gave him power- he used manipulation magic, which was a lost art. He stayed completely calm as his servant struggled for breath.  
Volco's voice echoed eerily throughout the big room. "Idiot. You don't understand."  
The grip around Rell's neck tightened.  
"I don't need Dragneel anymore. He is useless to me. Tell me, Rell- what do you need to rule the world?"  
The hands of darkness threw Rell into the wall, leaving bruises to cover almost every inch of his body. When he didn't answer, Volco continued.  
"It's power. Power and followers- I already have power, my inferior. Now all I need is followers. Just imagine how many followers I would have with celestial spirits at my side- It's our creator's magic!"  
His speech was cut short with the jingling of keys. In a split second, they were thrown to him and he was able to catch them without difficulty. Celestial spirit keys. Rell smirked, still partially lying of the floor.  
"You needn't look further for your keys, master."  
"I am impressed- You will certainly be a fine first hand seeker. Dismissed."  
Rell turned to walk out, but quickly faced his superior once more.  
"What shall I do with the mage?"  
Volco stroked the keys in thought. Certainly he couldn't let her go- she'd have to stay as long as the keys were here as well. She knew how to activate each and every one by name. Lucy was all too valuable to release.  
"You did say you needed another play thing, Rell. I will leave you in charge of her, so do what you'd like. However, I still need her alive."  
"I will keep that in mind," He said, turning towards the doors once again. He exited the room quickly and strode through the halls to the farthest room. That is where she lay waiting.

* * *

Lucy strained against the chains that bound her to the wall. That damned lightning man had found her only hours before now and locked her in this lonely, dark room. She tried screaming, but no one would come. She knew somewhere in her mind that no one would- I mean, she didn't even know where she was- but she just couldn't accept it as fate. He took her keys; her only hope of getting out. Now she was alone.

A noise removed Lucy from her thoughts and brought light to the darkness area of the room. The man who'd brought her here steeped in and flipped some sort if switch, causing a light to appear. At least everything was visible now. However, her eyes widened in terror as he shut and locked the door behind him.  
"My master has given me orders. Unfortunately, I can't kill you, but other than that..." Rell moved closer to Lucy and grabbed her face roughly, "...you're mine to play with."  
His hand instinctively flew to her thigh an slid up slowly. Each second was unbearable for Lucy- Was her first time going to be with this man? The thought terrified her to tears.  
"No! Don't touch me!"  
She pulled her leg out of his grasp and turned to face the brick wall behind her. As soon as she did that, Rell wrapped his arms around her chest to cup her breast abrasively. Lucy quietly moaned out in fear.  
"It's almost erotic to see a woman like you begging for freedom," his breath traveled down her neck, and she struggled to pull away even farther. His hands moved down to her skirt and slid below the waistband. Lucy sobbed quietly into the wall ; She felt so useless without her keys. In fact, without her magic, she would just be another weak girl who needed protection.

"Please... don't do this..." She begged. What else could she do?  
Rell chuckled at her efforts. "I'm sorry princess- I can't do that. You're MY toy, remember?"  
He wormed his hand up farther between her legs and slid his fingers into her without hesitation or carefulness. Lucy screamed in pain at the sudden contact. He pulled out after a moment and threw her to the ground beneath him. His legs straddled her hips, and she trembled as he began to rip apart her clothing.  
"S-stop please..!"  
Rell hummed deeply. "Still a virgin? I thought a girl like you would have already hooked up with every man who asked."  
He reached to stroke her face and she arched her back in pleasureless resentment.  
"What about Dragneel? He seemed pretty protective," He mocked.  
"N-Natsu..." Lucy whispered blindly, "Natsu, help me..."  
She whimpered once again and Rell smirked to himself. This would be fun.

* * *

As there is in every update... Review replies time!

**Ann- **She just might go back to them... who knows? (Creepy ghost voice.)

**Katy the Leopluradon- **Thank you so much for the continued support. (*_*)

**Portaphyro- **Welcome new reviewer! Thank you so much for the kind words. I really hope you liked the little NaLu scene at the beginning. (^_^) I promise that more is going to come in terms of NaLu.


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